Thanks to Harvey Newman, a brief update on how the repairs are going. This is all good news – it means they have a way of detecting this sort of problem before it becomes catastrophic, and implementation of better means of mitigation is also proceeding well. Even the ping pong ball test, where they send a ping pong ball around the beam to test for obstructions which may occur when the magnets are warmed, has been effectively utilized. I see this all as very encouraging.
Hi Steve,
how exactly works the ping pong ball test?
@Reila
Perhaps this would be helpful.
So does this mean it’s going to take a long time to cool the magnets again? Is there any kind of ETA before you guys can begin atom smashing? Thanks!
Also@Reila
Here is more detail on the finger bending problem with the plug in modules.
@Thomas
Since the New Director took over CERN is giving far more frequent updates on the status of repairs.
See the Directors recent address to the staff.
I think the short answer is this summer ~ Julyish.
LHC will unleash the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse in search of GOD PARTICLE. 1. gravitation, 2. electromagnetism, 3. strong nuclear force and 4. weak nuclear force.
…meshing with technology is bad for all of us!
hehehehe