The first proton collisions at 7 TeV are supposed to happen tomorrow morning Geneva time – maybe just in time for people to be watching the morning news in Europe!
By the way, let me mention about the word “buckets” on the LHC beam status page.
Basically, the proton beams aren’t continuous – they are kept in tiny bunches or “buckets.” The bunches in both beams go around the LHC ring at the same frequency and only cross at specific points. So for protons to collide they have to be in synchronized buckets, or else they won’t be at the crossing point at the same time.
So keep an eye out, because soon, the LHC will be smashing together the world’s highest energy “buckets o’ protons”!
