All the latest UK technology news, reviews and analysis

Crippled LHC to run at half power

by Iain Thomson

08 Aug 2009

Be the first to comment

  • Tweet this
Large Hadron Collider
The LHC will still be the most powerful proton-smasher on the planet

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will be restarting this winter, but only operating at half power until building problems are sorted out.

The LHC, the biggest scientific instrument in the world, had barely started functioning last summer before a major fault shut it down. Large-scale repair work began immediately but the damage is so severe that the LHC will only be able to operate at half power at first.

The LHC was designed to operate at seven teraelectronvolts (TeV) but will be limited to half that until problems with the magnetic units designed to direct the proton stream are resolved.

Rolf Heuer, director general of CERN, said: "We've selected 3.5 TeV to start because it allows the LHC operators to gain experience of running the machine safely while opening up a new discovery region for the experiments."

The news will be a major blow to scientists who had hoped to use the device to solve some of the fundamental questions over how the universe is constructed. However, it will be a relief to those who worry the device could destroy the planet.

Despite the low power operation, the LHC will still be the most powerful proton-smasher on the planet. Scientists hope it will prove or disprove the existence of the Higgs boson particle, which it is postulated gives matter mass.

"The LHC is a much better understood machine than it was a year ago," said Heuer. "We can look forward with confidence and excitement to a good run through the winter and into next year."

Do you agree?

 

Add your comment

We won't publish your address
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms & Conditions. Your comment will be moderated before publication.

Poll

Flame virus poll

Are you confident that the UK's IT infrastructure is secure from attack in the wake of the Flame malware revelations?

34%

0%

11%

55%

Connect with V3.co.uk

Sign up to our daily or weekly newsletters

Symanteccloud

Social networking: a guide for IT managers

Social networking is almost ubiquitous. This white paper examines the benefits and risks and it looks at the different ways companies can reconcile them

Riverbed

Mitigating the risks of IT change

The importance of understanding your infrastructure

Contract Systems Administrator, Windows £320 per day

Contract Systems Administrator, Southampton My...

PHP Web Developer, PHP, to £30k + 30% bonus

PHP Web Developer required to join my market-leading...

Java Developer x2, Spring, Hibernate, £40K

Java Developer x2, Spring, Hibernate, Swindon, £40K...

Business Readiness/ Change manager

As part of a major implementation of a new inventory...

To send to more than one email address, simply separate each address with a comma.