Monday, April 09, 2007

Costly Mistakes at the LHC



The LHC (Large Hadron Collider) is turning into the Chinese Democracy of particle physics.

The collider was supposed to be ready and taking data two years ago, but it's still not online.

The way most accelerators work is by using magnets to "stear" beams of particles around a circle faster and faster.

Last week there was an accident involving one of the magnets designed over in Fermilab, which could delay the LHC even more.

Of course, accidents happen and everyone wants the machine to get going as quick and safely as possible.

There's a saying in the film industry that can be applied here: "Fast, Good, Cheap:pick two"

Let's hope the particle physics community picks the right ones.

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