digg

Join DiggAbout

The Digg Crew wants to hear your thoughts!
Please take our short survey about Digg and potential feature ideas.

Major Problems Stall Action for Large Hadron Collider

nytimes.com — The world ’s most powerful particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider, is still struggling to take its next big step.

show profanity settings
expand all
  • ScottMcIntyre, on 09/20/2008, -1/+64Each time I read about the LHC, I learn another piece of mind-boggling information. For example, in this article it states:

    "The initial attempt at running protons through the collider, on Sept. 10, was so successful that CERN scientists thought they might achieve the initial collisions ahead of the scheduled two weeks after “first beam.” But those hopes were dashed by a series of “teething problems,” as one engineer put it, including the failure of a 30-ton transformer in the system for chilling the helium that, in turn, chills the superconducting magnets that guide the protons."
  • kelstock, on 09/20/2008, -5/+75Considering the complexity of this machine, it's pretty awesome they're still on schedule
    • MacBookForMe, on 09/20/2008, -1/+3...more complex...more tempting...
    • exeprime, on 09/20/2008, -1/+37They're not. The whole thing was supposed to go online in 2005
    • kd1s, on 09/21/2008, -0/+1I know. It's a marvel of engineering from several perspectives not the least of which is the I.T. infrastructure necessary to gather all that data, categorize it and store it.

      I'm just waiting to see if they prove or disprove string theory. A lot of recent discoveries do seem to validate the theory but this would open a new level of physics for study.

  • bicyclethief, on 09/20/2008, -9/+52So our universe has a new lease on life!
  • knoxchris, on 09/20/2008, -13/+7Armageddon Postponed Two Months.
  • UltamateAddict, on 09/20/2008, -23/+3This is a little off topic, but have you guys ever thought we're like, from spore?

    We're a part of a bigger organisms Spore game.

    Sorta like the matrix?
    • knoxchris, on 09/20/2008, -1/+24Personally i'm out of weed, can you sell me a $10 sack?
    • mlmorg, on 09/20/2008, -2/+9burning man is over
    • dullnation, on 09/20/2008, -0/+5That's like... so profound. I bet the greatest philosophers in the history of man have never though of such a concept.
      • bugsy187, on 09/20/2008, -0/+4What if G-o-d really meant d-o-g? You know? Whoa.
      • Darkaged, on 09/20/2008, -0/+2What if God was spelt wrong?
        ogd
        ogc

        I, for one, welcome our ancient fapping overlord.
  • BladeOfAnduril, on 09/20/2008, -4/+31It's ok. A black hole ate the power source.
  • MrM4nager, on 09/20/2008, -8/+2Every time an article pops up on the LHC it always seems that something is going wrong with it, either things aren't working or it's getting hacked.
    • WarPirate, on 09/20/2008, -8/+2Sounds like a higher power could have alternate plans.
      • hakz, on 09/20/2008, -1/+6If there was a higher power involved, why not just blow the whole thing up, and keep blowing it up every time its reconstructed
      • WarPirate, on 09/20/2008, -1/+1That would be prideful not humble.
    • localzuk, on 09/20/2008, -1/+4Other than the fact they were on schedule, and ran their initial tests perfectly?
    • gamepr0, on 09/20/2008, -0/+2maybe because people can't go in drama mode when everything's all right, so an article about something that's right doesn't get in the news.

      also, the LHC is not on it's planned schedule at all
      • arobicha, on 09/20/2008, -0/+1The successful test beams got press... not a lot, but some.
  • lil666jrkatz, on 09/20/2008, -8/+1Great, I don't have to worry for another 3 weeks. Yes, I know that everything will be fine, but what if...
    • thall, on 09/20/2008, -0/+11What if you get hit by a bus on Monday? It would probably be safer for you to stay at home...cause you never really know for sure, right?
      • lil666jrkatz, on 09/20/2008, -0/+1ugh, I knew I shouldn't have said anything
  • Loading123, on 09/20/2008, -7/+1Has to be the best video every made.
    I agree now its time to spread the word!
  • theCreator79, on 09/20/2008, -7/+4Glad I don't live right above this thing!
    • 0tis, on 09/20/2008, -0/+4Apparently some others aren't, but hey, they can learn to take a joke.
    • blowed247, on 09/27/2008, -0/+0Glad your not a douche!
  • thecowispg13, on 09/20/2008, -13/+6But can it run Crysis?
    • bernstein07, on 09/20/2008, -0/+1That ability is going to run CERN another billion or two.
  • Weed86, on 09/20/2008, -8/+16.6 billion dollars!!....down the drain!
  • Rippleeffect, on 09/20/2008, -2/+78Wouldn't be surprised if its pushed out to 2012. =P
    • arobicha, on 09/20/2008, -0/+3Coincidentally, we're planning an upgrade to the LHC for around that time.
    • mrbradg, on 09/20/2008, -0/+3That would be freaky.
    • karan10489, on 09/20/2008, -0/+521st dec1yw wasn't it?..yea ,that WOULD be co-incidental
      • Rippleeffect, on 09/20/2008, -0/+3They should do it just for kicks. Best prank ever.. release some news briefing
  • PosedMagnet, on 09/20/2008, -3/+23Too many hardons were shooting through the tunnels and clogged the reciprocating pump compressor. This is what caused the electrical issues.

    I know this from a friend who works there and has seen the hardons collding with his own eyes.
    • onlines, on 09/20/2008, -1/+4uhh what?
      • PosedMagnet, on 09/20/2008, -2/+7Basically the velocities at which the hardons collided with each other and the resulting effects of being pushed through the tunnel repeatedly threw off the system's load prediction method in regards to the element modeling of the block and frame flexibility.

        This has a direct result on the electrical systems which the transformer mentioned in the article is connected to.

        Plus the compressor and anchor bolt loads were completely shot, and when those loads are shot, you tend to put unnecessary strain on the system itself.

        But that's a bunch of technical talk.
      • stonklit, on 09/20/2008, -0/+15...this seriously has to be one of the most intelligent nonsensical posts I've ever read in my life.
    • somegeologist, on 09/20/2008, -1/+5wha..a hadron mosh pit? I thought hadrons liked hip-hop.
    • tumples, on 09/20/2008, -0/+8Hardons? Seriously?
    • tech42er, on 09/20/2008, -2/+12I just love how he uses "hardons" instead of "hadrons". There's no way you can take him seriously.
    • triad203, on 09/20/2008, -1/+10Your friend has seen these "hardons" first-hand? Has he ... touched the hardons?
      • PosedMagnet, on 09/20/2008, -2/+8Good question, but no, you cannot touch the hardons because they are simply going way too fast.

        It would be like putting your hand on speeding bullets from a machine gun. They would surely penetrate you and then come out the other side.

        Now you can imagine that being penetrated by multiple shooting hardons is probably not a good example of a sunny day picnic!
      • supplyside, on 09/20/2008, -0/+5I got a hardon you can touch
    • abrasion, on 09/21/2008, -0/+1http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=doc ...
  • 4321234, on 09/20/2008, -6/+20Maybe try viagra.

    Ohh. Had-ron. Sorry. My bad.
  • wukillabee, on 09/20/2008, -10/+4all aboard the FAILboat
  • Erythroxylum, on 09/20/2008, -14/+3Considering it was built within the socialist, undemocratic, bureaucratic, old-fashioned, inward-facing behemoth that is the Europe Union, it's no small wonder it managed to get built at all. Hell, it's amazing they even managed to agree on the plan for the thing.

    It's a great thing though. I'm glad they built it. It makes Europe slightly less *****.
    • tumples, on 09/20/2008, -0/+7CERN is based in Switzerland you dumb *****.
    • localzuk, on 09/20/2008, -2/+6I'd prefer to live in any country in Europe then live in the USA.
    • ChayD, on 09/20/2008, -0/+3Erm, you live in the UK, which, incidentally, is part of the EU. You're right about the 'bureaucratic', though.
  • SubjectiveC, on 09/20/2008, -2/+11It's not a dump truck. It's a series of tubes! And I'm actually right.
  • andrewlotta, on 09/20/2008, -1/+2More time to complete my bucket list before a black hole eats me.
  • whitey9, on 09/20/2008, -2/+9Why did you insert the word 'Major' into your headline? It appears nowhere in the article.
    • 4321234, on 09/20/2008, -1/+7[turns suddenly to face you as camera zooms in] Dramatic effect.
    • arobicha, on 09/20/2008, -3/+4Because it is a major problem. It's offline for a few months. That's pretty major.
      • the2989, on 09/20/2008, -1/+2Don't make up facts, it didn't say it'd be offline for a few months.

        It did say, "When the machine will begin colliding protons at high energy is a guessing game at best. If all goes well, scientists and engineers at CERN say, it could happen by the middle of October."
      • arobicha, on 09/21/2008, -0/+2http://press.web.cern.ch/press/PressReleases/Relea ...

        It helps when you go straight to the source.
    • blowed247, on 09/27/2008, -0/+0should've said minor because for the most part they're not that far behind the original schedule
  • isiz, on 09/20/2008, -2/+14Cool, you can see them working on it here: http://lhccam.com/
  • secondfiddle, on 09/20/2008, -1/+1I bet its a bad dukweigh causing the problem.
  • Wartyboskfapped, on 09/20/2008, -3/+5"I came across a bizarre paper recently suggesting that the LHC might be shut down. Not because of the funding cuts that have been threatening particle physics projects around the world, nor because of law suits accusing the LHC of threatening life on Earth... No, the paper suggested that future effects caused by the production of particles, such as the Higgs, could ripple backwards in time and prevent the LHC from ever operating."
    Source: http://fqxi.org/community/forum/topic/230
    Abstract: http://arxiv.org/abs/0802.2991
    PDF: http://arxiv.org/pdf/0802.2991v2
    • armakaryk, on 09/20/2008, -0/+2does this mean i can become my own grandpa?
    • arobicha, on 09/20/2008, -0/+3No... Don't even start. Do you have any idea how many scientists have worked on the LHC (both experimentalists and theorists)? Do you have any idea how much ***** the concept of "not listening to the scientist with the doomsday prediction is a bad idea" is? Take a deep breath and realize that the people working on the LHC (the thousands of them) know what they're talking about. We're very confident that we know what we'll see at the LHC because of the years of data we've collected at other collider experiments around the world. Just let it go.
    • keyme, on 09/20/2008, -1/+1I read this a while ago, and this was the first thing that sprung into mind when hearing about this incident.
  • SaranWrap, on 09/20/2008, -5/+2SABOTAGE
  • chickenloco, on 09/20/2008, -4/+4WE'RE SAFE FOR ANOTHER TWO MONTHS (!!!)
    • 0tis, on 09/20/2008, -0/+3Why can people not take this kind of thing as a joke?
  • Alias1431, on 09/20/2008, -3/+2They're here.
  • erkokite, on 09/20/2008, -1/+1I heard that they fixed it already. Correct me if I am wrong though.
  • dasunst3r, on 09/20/2008, -4/+2Is there word on whether that transformer is an autobot or decepticon? (this line was seen at Fark.com)
  • cyclades, on 09/20/2008, -1/+4Oh yeah? Watch this...

    Watch what?
    • adkenc, on 09/20/2008, -0/+4If I may say so, sir, I noticed earlier the LHC motivator has been damaged. It's impossible to go to collide protons!
      • lolwutpear, on 09/20/2008, -0/+2Sir, the possibility of a proton successfully navigating the collider tunnel is approximately 3,720 to 1!
      • cyclades, on 09/21/2008, -0/+1Never tell me the odds!
  • pablodius, on 09/20/2008, -1/+1Come one people, it's all about the neutrinos!
  • Kumaku, on 09/20/2008, -8/+1This is something that man was not supposed make. This is God telling us not to find out about the truth in life.
  • FreeTalkLIve, on 09/20/2008, -1/+6I would like to know what causes mass.

    Mass slows down time. The more mass there is in an area, the slower time goes by right?
    This ***** is so confusing.

    If mass had never been possible, the big bang would have resulted in an explosion of radioactive particles that would travel and expand at light speed forever. Without mass, there would be no stars, galaxies, planets, and humans. Somewhere in the light speed travels of radioactive particles of the big bang, consciousness came into being as we know it.

    If there was nothing before the big bang, What were you, before you were born? Were you nothing? Were you some radioactive particles traveling at light speed that slammed into the mystery ***** that causes mass which slowed you down from your light speed travels and trapped you into this "world" for a while? Maybe after you die, you will return to your light speed journey like a particle man until you hit another mystery speed bump that causes you to have mass again.


    At some point, "things" started clinging together, which made "things" have mass. Mass was created at some point. How? Why? What caused MASS?


    Will the HLC answer how mass began?
    • joe8pack, on 09/20/2008, -2/+3Mass is a product of the Catholic church, look it up. Try Google, they have a whole section on dogma.
    • 10scott10, on 09/20/2008, -0/+1they hope.
      it is predicted that the higgs gives matter mass.
  • wilhoitm, on 09/20/2008, -3/+1Mayan Aliens sabotaged it!


  • joe8pack, on 09/20/2008, -2/+4When bad things happen to good devices. An emotional journey through the difficult and wonderful lifetime of a large small particle collider, soon to be a Lifetime movie. Check you local listings for time and date.
  • mastermemorex, on 09/20/2008, -1/+6Ok. Then I have two months to loose my virginity before the earth is converted into a black hole :)
  • supplyside, on 09/20/2008, -6/+1More like Large Hard-on Collider....
  • Spoomeister, on 09/20/2008, -0/+1Thank you, LHC saboteurs, for buying us all a few extra weeks of life.
  • johnboycanada, on 09/21/2008, -3/+0EPIC FAIL!
  • logotype702, on 09/21/2008, -1/+1fta:
    "Geneva, 20 September 2008. During commissioning (without beam) of the final LHC sector (sector 34) at high current for operation at 5 TeV, an incident occurred at mid-day on Friday 19 September resulting in a large helium leak into the tunnel"

    It failed just in the "last" sector, what a coincidence.... they are hiding something... don't you see, it is sector 34 (17x2), the LHC is 17-miles long. The number 17, where have I seen that number before?






    • logotype702, on 09/21/2008, -0/+2There must be more clues behind "mid-day on Fridy 19 September", just at mid-day? what a coincidence..!!! We need to call Tom Hanks to help us decipher this code....
  • gkiltz, on 09/21/2008, -0/+0This whole thing is so advanced, and so high tech, it's all but impossible for EVERYTHING to work exactly right from the very start! The essentially knew, even if they wouldn't admit, that there were going to be slowdowns like this along the way. It's not that big a deal, it DOES slow things down, but they are so close to the cutting edge that the original schedule was probably unrealistic.
  • tetraelement, on 09/24/2008, -0/+1collider? i just met her!
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.