A few updates about the Large Hadron Collider....There was a "large" helium leak and now they have to fix some of the magnets. Which apparently will take a few months. So while we, and a lot of other sites, were kicking and screaming about how we were all going to be sucked into a mini black hole in october, we now have a few more months to get our affairs in order. Thanks CERN!
"The time necessary for the investigation and repairs precludes a restart before CERN’s obligatory winter maintenance period, bringing the date for restart of the accelerator complex to early spring 2009." (CERN press release)
Also, old news, but did you hear the LHC was hacked?!?
"Though the Large Hadron Collider's infiltration by hackers did not disrupt the historic project, experts warn that its computer systems are vulnerable -- though at least their exploitation won't destroy Earth. Shortly after physicists activated the Collider on Wednesday, hackers identifying themselves as Group 2600 of the Greek Security Team accessed computers connected to the Compact Muon Solenoid detector, one of four key subsystems responsible for monitoring the collisions of protons speeding around the 18-mile track near Geneva, Switzerland." (abcnews.com) [emphasis added -ed.]
[image from some simpsons website]
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