Scientists at Cern hold their breath as they prepare to fire up the LHC

If all goes to plan, beams of particles will begin whizzing around the LHC on Friday evening for the first time since last year's explosion. A giant scientific instrument that was designed to recreate the big bang but blew itself up in the process will be back in business on Friday. Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at Cern, the nuclear research organisation near Geneva, aim to have beams of subatomic particles whizzing around the machine on Friday evening, and will begin smashing them together soon after. The first collisions will mark the end of a long and frustrating period for the researchers, who waited eight years for the machine to be built only to see it explode shortly after being switched on in September last year. Repairs and a new safety system cost an estimated £24m.
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Posted by Editor at November 19, 2009 12:52 AM