CERN announces date for Large Hadron Collider experiment

by Rich Bowden - Aug 7 2008, 22:12

The world's greatest and most advanced particle physics experiment is set to begin on September 10, according to information released by the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) yesterday.

Photo: LHC. Credit: Image Editor/Flickr

Physicists have been waiting patiently for the experiment with the four billion Swiss franc ($3.8 billion USD) Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which will attempt to recreate the conditions experienced just milliseconds after the big bang. Scientists hope by recreating the forces present during this time, they will gain a greater insight into the birth of the universe.The LHC will initially fire beams clockwise around a 17-mile circular tube located on the French-Swiss border. According to a CERN press release, when opposite beams are considered stable enough, they will be directed into collision with each other.The final stage will be to increase the LHC's acceleration system bringing particle physics to a new level."We’re finishing a marathon with a sprint," said LHC project leader Lyn Evans. "It’s been a long haul, and we’re all eager to get the LHC research programme underway."While construction of the collider was completed earlier this year, the superconducting magnets essential to the experiment had to be cooled down to near absolute zero in order for it to function effectively. According to CERN, the next phase in the process is synchronization of the LHC with the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) accelerator, which forms the last link in the LHC’s injector chain.With timing between the two machines needed to be within a fraction of a nanosecond, the first synchronization test is scheduled for the weekend of August 09 for the clockwise-circulating LHC beam, with the second to follow over the coming weeks.Regular updates on the progress of the experiment will be available as the date approaches, and the organisation will broadcast the event live here.CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is the world's leading laboratory for particle physics. It has its headquarters in Geneva. At present, CERN's Member States are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. India, Israel, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United States of America, Turkey, the European Commission and UNESCO have Observer status.

Comment on this Story

Interested in a more interactive TTH? Join our Facebook Group
Want regular updates from The Tech Herald? Follow us on Twitter

Comment on this Story

Note our older Talkback system is still running below. We hope to import existing comments into the new system shortly. Guest posting is still allowed, however, you can now login with any number of social network accounts.

Talkback

Add your comment (no registration required)

page: 1 2

Robert I. Marsh IIAug 8th, 2008 - 01:05:38

I have a conjectured hypothesis: Concerning the CERN LHC/ALICE experiments at 14 TeV, with no pulse-packet safety features, during full-power heavy Lead (Pb) ion collisions, once financed - scheduled for 2009. These experiments create hyper-density plasmatic luminosities, that could affect a gravitational curvature. This could lead to the formation of a compression singularity vortex, within a forced equillibrium state. This would engage quantum inverse 'ghost' radiation, in the form of supersymmetry feed-back loops, thus producing expansion, and stability for the event-horizon. Relativistic Time-distortions, and structural loss of integrity, would be the pre-warning signs for an imminent breach of the quantum-universal boundary layer. The loss of structural integrity, is due to the disturbance of quantum pathways, thus altering nuclear positionings, and the reorganization of molecular-chemical bonds.

Report this comment

joey stalinAug 8th, 2008 - 05:08:31

lol whut?

Report this comment

egon spenglerAug 8th, 2008 - 10:46:30

Report this comment

XXXMonkeyAug 8th, 2008 - 10:51:58

It essentially means that when CERN flicks the switch on its collider, the resulting collision will create a black hole and suck us all to our dooooms.

It's a load of tosh. CERN will flick its switch, and life will go on.

Report this comment

MikeySep 2nd, 2008 - 02:24:25

The picture of this thing kinda looks like the alien from the movie Predator!

Report this comment

scottySep 6th, 2008 - 23:23:49

What is the exact time of the experiment, anyone know??

Report this comment

snatchettSep 8th, 2008 - 09:32:23

anyone else a bit nervous?

Report this comment

Tim AuzzieSep 8th, 2008 - 13:35:00

Well i would like to say im all for it but i just don't get how they think they can contain a black hole (if) this happens. Has got me worried a little lets hope that we are not to smart for our own good.....

I herd the date was sep 10th?

Report this comment

SarahSep 9th, 2008 - 16:10:41

10th September,
9:30am

Blackhole or not?

Report this comment

javaiezSep 9th, 2008 - 16:43:09

this 9.30 am that youre tlkin about....local to what region? i dont want to die while im eating my cornflakes thank you very much?

Report this comment

page: 1 2

Add your comment (no registration required)