Leaks lead to new Hadron Collider delay

The restart of the Large Hadron Collider has been pushed back even further, following the discovery of vacuum leaks in two sectors of the experiment.

The world's largest particle collider is now unlikely to restart before mid-November, according to CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

The project had been expected to start again in October.

The collider's experiments are designed to answer fundamental questions about the nature of matter.

(Credit: CERN)

To repair the leaks, which are from the helium circuit into the insulating vacuum, sectors 8-1 and 2-3 will have to be warmed from 80K to room temperature. Adjacent sub-sectors will act as "floats," while the remainder of the surrounding sectors will be kept at 80K, CERN said in a statement. The repair work will not have an impact on the vacuum in the beam pipe.

The LHC experiment, which is designed to answer fundamental questions about the nature of matter, had to be halted nine days after it became fully operational last September, due to a leak of liquid helium. To be super-conductive, the experiment is cooled using liquid helium.

CERN has pushed back the restart a number of times, as repair work has continued. To begin with, scientists said the LHC experiment would restart in April 2009.

In May, CERN told ZDNet UK that the restarted experiment could run through the winter to make up some of the lost time. Normally, running the experiments through the alpine winter is prohibitively expensive, due to high electricity costs. However, as the experiment has not been running since last September, CERN would have the budget to cover energy costs over the winter.

Tom Espiner of ZDNet UK reported from London.

[codynews]

The US should just make one and save the rest of the world some time. This thing seems to be running as well as a broken down 1970's Yugo.

[Seaspray0]

What? Make another broken down Yugo? I would hope they use a different set of blueprints and designs.

[mudphud]

Riiiight, because it's not that this is an insanely complicated one-of-a-kind machine, it's that it's being done in Europe. The U.S. would never make a mistake designing the supports for the inner focussing magnets we supplied and cause a failure and delays... oh wait, we did. No matter where it is, there will be problems. Maybe you're right, we should build our own. I know, we could build one in Texas! Oh wait, we started one and quit. Two probably would have been better, but that's no longer an option.

[Bakkster]

1) The US already has a majority stake in the LHC.
2) A massive particle accelerator is slightly more complex than a car. There's going to be a breakdown at some point.

[tektaktyks]

lol @ codynews ,they cant even make a space stations toilet operational

[joe_bloggs_who]

Bakkster: "The US already has a majority stake in the LHC."
You must surely be mistaken. The LHC is owned and operated by CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research). The US isn't even a member state.

[todd3617]

The end of the world is delayed again. I bet they get this going on December 23rd 2012 then we will get gobbled up by a big black hole.

[tektaktyks]

yea i have that funny feeling too

[Michichael]

Spoken like a person that has no understanding of how a black hole functions.

Once again scientists that mocked God fall flat on their faces. The LHC will never do what they want it to. God will prevent that thing from causing the end of the world. Let's see, how did He put it, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." 1 Co 1:18

[GEO2003]

You are correct, God must defenetely stop the end of the World by the hand of man, as it is his Kindom that has to come to fruition for all to see that he is God.

[jak_d89]

dont you mean.....how did that one book state that the character of God put it?

[Trab122]

God? What is this God thing you mention?

[Trab122]

menat to post that as reply to July 21, 2009 8:30 AM PDT
Once again scientists that mocked God fall flat on their faces. The LHC will never do what they want it to. God will prevent that thing from causing the end of the world. Let's see, how did He put it, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." 1 Co 1:18

[galeso]

IMHO, if the Hadron Collider was built in the the USA it would already be running and sucking all of us in to a black hole by now.