Large Hadron Collider experiment delayed due to helium leak

by Rich Bowden - Sep 21 2008, 20:45

A helium leak, which has disabled the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiment on the French/Swiss border, is likely to take two months to repair.

In a statement released over the weekend, European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) scientists confirmed they detected a helium leak on Friday, which they believe was most likely caused by a faulty electrical connection between two of the device's giant magnets.

The connection had "melted at high current leading to mechanical failure," said the statement, though CERN insisted that at no time was there any danger to people.

The scientists also said they thought the problem should be fixed in a few days once accessible, though added the sector where the problem occurred will have to be warmed up above its operational absolute zero in order for repairs to be carried out.

"A number of magnets raised their temperature by around 100 degrees," said James Gillies, a spokesman for CERN. "We have now to warm up the whole sector in a controlled manner before we can actually go in and repair it."

The $10 million USD atom smasher would then need to be cooled back down to absolute zero to re-start operations, with CERN expecting a "minimum" total down time of around two months.

Once fully operational, the world's largest and most expensive atom-smashing experiment will attempt to recreate the conditions experienced in the universe just one trillionth of a second after the Big Bang.

Physicists are hopeful that the LHC experiment will go some way to answering many questions including uncovering evidence of the elusive Higgs boson, or "God particle", the theoretical particle they believe will explain how matter gets its mass.

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