Big Hadron Collider will not be launched this year

Technology news and updates blog article

29th September 2008

European Organization of Nuclear Research, CERN (from Conseil EuropÃ©en pour la Recherche NuclÃ©aire) has released a press release, which stated that a large Hadron Collider will not start working this year.
Recently, in the 27-kilometer tunnel of the accelerator a serious accident has taken place, triggering significant leakage of liquid helium. According to preliminary reports, the incident occurred because of damage to the electrical contact between the two magnets. Apparently, at high amperage the contact melted, causing mechanical damage. The organization CERN, immediately announced that repairs will take at least two months.
However, as is now reported, repairing the Big Hadron Collider will require more time than it was previously thought. They say, it can last for several months.
As a result, CERN assumes that the date of launching the Collider will be postponed to spring 2009. The organization points out, that the Big Hadron Collider is a unique complex, built using the most advanced technologies. Thus, any errors in its work are quite expected at the early stage of its functioning.