Downed Hadron Collider faces $21M in repairs

Fixing problems at the world's largest particle collider won't come cheap.

James Gillies, a spokesman for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), which runs the Large Hadron Collider , said in an email to Computerworld that officials are still working on repair plans -- and a budget. So far, he added, it appears that it will cost upwards of US$21 million to get the collider operational again.

Late in September, CERN disclosed that a faulty electrical connection had knocked the collider offline till next spring.

The problems came shortly after the collider's first test run on September 10, when a particle beam shot fully around the 17-mile, underground vacuum-sealed tube. After that, another beam was shot around the tube going in the opposite direction.

That test was top be a precursor to the smashing of two beams in the tube, an action researchers expect will recreate conditions in the universe just moments after its conception, giving scientists the chance to answer one of humanity's oldest questions: How was the universe created?

Before the wiring problem, the collision test was expected to take place this fall. Now, it has been pushed back until at least next spring. In the last few days, online reports have surfaced saying that the collider may be down till at least June. Gillies would not confirm or deny those reports, nor would he say exactly what fixes will be needed.

Shortly after the first test, CERN said that an electrical connection between two magnets had melted, causing a "large helium leak" in the tunnel. "At no time was there any risk to people," the agency said at the time.

As part of the investigation, technicians brought the affected area of the collider's tunnel to room temperature and the involved magnets had to be opened for inspection. After the work is complete, the entire area will need to be recooled.

The faulty wiring issue arose two weeks after a faulty transformer was replaced in the machine.

Early in October, shortly after the problems were disclosed, a US federal judge dismissed a lawsuit seeking to halt experiments in the Large Hadron Collider.

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