"Big Bang" Machine's Restart Delayed Again

(CNET)  The Large Hadron Collider could be restarted at the end of September -- a year after the world's largest particle accelerator was knocked off line by an electrical malfunction.

LHC operations were suspended last September after a transformer malfunction in its cooling system allowed a helium leak -- just nine days after the controversial project became operational. An investigation concluded that the malfunction was caused by a faulty electrical connection between two of the accelerator's magnets.

As a result, the 53 magnets used to accelerate sub-atomic particles around the machine's 17-mile underground tunnel had to be cleaned or repaired. At the time, the repair costs for the $5 billion LHC were expected to top $16 million.

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60 Minutes: A Trip Inside The "Big Bang Machine"

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The European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, the organization that built the LHC, announced Monday that it expects the first beams to begin in September, with the first collisions expected by late October.

The delay is the latest in a string of restart dates CERN has announced. CERN had originally expected to have the LHC back online at the beginning of April, following CERN's annual maintenance period. But that target was revised last November to June. Later that month, CERN's head of communications, James Gillies, told ZDNet UK that the new plan was to restart the LHC in late summer.

"The schedule we have now is without a doubt the best for the LHC and for the physicists waiting for data," CERN Director General Rolf Heuer said in a statement. "It is cautious, ensuring that all the necessary work is done on the LHC before we start-up, yet it allows physics research to begin this year."

The LHC, located along the French-Swiss border, is designed to smash beams of protons into each other, test fundamental physics theories, and help understand the nature of matter.

By Steven Musil

[the_universe]

Who said that "the final truth is at the end of the universe" was wrong!
The final truth is at the beginning of the universe and the LHC will prove it.

[usclimey]

You can lead an atheist to the evidence but you can''''t make him think

Posted by TRUTHin20091

What evidence? There are several groups studying the origin of life presently. It has been proved that amino acids can be formed by electrical discharge passing through a mixture of carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, ammonia and water vapor. It haas been proven that these amino acids will react together and self arrange into cell-like structures. Once this has been achieved the jump to cells themselves is merely a matter of time and remember the earth was around for 2 billion years before life first formed. Once you have cells, elementary biology teaches how they divide and multiply to form organisms. So, although science hasn''t made a cat yet, the mechanisms and building blocks are pretty well understood. To say that a being waved a magic wand for a week 6,000 years ago and everything popped into existence is poppycock. But a creationist never let science get in the way of illogic.

[gosukabug]

NASA has reported it found God residing in the rings around Uranus.

[ibzjem]

And because of your lack of faith in God, it must be evolution.
Posted by cbs_tom at 12:04 AM : Feb 12, 2009

You''ve said it best. It takes FAITH to believe in God. I do. But learning about our natural world (which is an ongoing and self-correcting process - if one uses the scientific method) is not faith based. The reality is, if you spend all your time studying one approach, say the bible, then you will be biased to that view as such and willfully ignorant of the other. It works both ways. If you are looking for answers to these difficult scientific questions, then you must DIG IN and start reading and researching yourself. I do. It''s time consuming and sometimes confusing, and I certainly don''t understand all the scientific jargon, but it''s challenging and I''m interested, so I continue on. To the best of my ability I will not be willfully ignorant.

[cbs_tom]

Ahhhh, if we can''''t explain it right now, it must be god.
Posted by elpaulito at 01:29 PM : Feb 11, 2009

And because of your lack of faith in God, it must be evolution. Which brings us back to the original question. In your original thoughts, how do you believe that out of nothing came everything that is in existence? How also, does a simple cell somehow become more intelligent and evolve into a higher form?

[wiswolf2]

Well, it''s obvious! The large machine is inhabited by gremlins and "little people" as well as fairies and sprites. One has to address their needs before they will allow this machine to work. It''s either that or a group of True Believers have to hold a 24 hour vigil at some holy site. Honest inquiry of science...I say NAY! We must all abide by rules promulgated 3000 years ago by a late Stone Age society of sheep herders.

[elpaulito]

QUOTE:

"But can you explain through your many proven scientist how the very first cell was created? out of nothing? It is much more likely that something of higher intelligence rather than a random "sudden appearance of cells" brought the universe into being."

Ahhhh, if we can''t explain it right now, it must be god.

And the creep that is telling aetheists that we are dumb....well, I dont base my life on a book written 300 years ago saying that I should beat my slaves. How dumb is that? What gives you the nerve to tell me/us what we actually really believe? I believe the universe was created without some all-knowing space entity. But, leave it to you christians to carry on and tell people what they think and what they should think according to their pathetic little book.

[cbs_tom]

"Maybe that''''s the answer to timbuckthree''''s question - "How does creating a black hole help science again?" Maybe the Hadron Collider can disprove the existance of God once and for all".
Posted by usclimey at 09:57 AM : Feb 11, 2009

But can you explain through your many proven scientist how the very first cell was created? out of nothing? It is much more likely that something of higher intelligence rather than a random "sudden appearance of cells" brought the universe into being.

[usclimey]

And for all you atheists out there, how incredibly dumb are you anyhow?

In order to be an atheist, you have to believe that NOTHING made everything.

Posted by TRUTHin20091

I know there''s no use arguing with you Rick - you are a TRUE believer and that position demands respect. I, on the other hand believe the thousands of highly educated, brilliant scientists who come closer to explaining the big bang every day than the thought of some being somewhere clicking his (her?) fingers 6,000 years ago and have everything spring to life.

Maybe that''s the answer to timbuckthree''s question - "How does creating a black hole help science again?" Maybe the Hadron Collider can disprove the existance of God once and for all.

[messiahx4eve]

TRUTHin20091, I sense a lot of irresponsibility in what you preach. There are TWO distinct forms of christianity; one is government sponsored and the other is simply a way of life that IF followed, one becomes at peace with all life in nature. You promote simple robot beliefs that are totally faith based that basically says 100% faith means ZERO proof in logical thinking. ANY religion that uses fear as a means of control lacks credibility and ALL we subscribe to in our society today exploit that fear. You learn from you parents and their parents as it is passed down from generation to generation to what we are today. I do believe in a god, Spirit if you wish, that Spirit within me allows me the gift of reason & logic, to see beyond myself and see the real truth in life AND death, the ONLY true guarantees and proof in our existence, everthing else is simply life experiences.