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Serious Magnet Failure at CERN's New Accelerator

GrepNut writes "CERN is reporting that the giant magnets that steer the particle beam in the new and highly anticipated Large Hadron Collider have just failed catastrophically in a stress test, apparently due to a design oversight. It doesn't help that the magnets were designed and built by CERN's US competitor Fermilab." While safety precautions were followed, and no one was injured nor were any rifts in the space-time continuum opened, it's still a rather large setback for the project.

22 of 193 comments (clear)

  1. What actually happened by DJCacophony · · Score: 5, Funny

    The part was destroyed and subsequently compressed into a singularity by the black hole that the device created.

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    1. Re:What actually happened by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Uh...it's probably not a problem...probably...but I'm showing a small discrepancy in...well, no, it's well within acceptable bounds again. Sustaining sequence...

    2. Re:What actually happened by tsajeff · · Score: 4, Funny

      Weren't they warned never to cross the streams??

  2. There were no injuries by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    But all credit cards within a 10-mile radius were erased.

    1. Re:There were no injuries by JackMeyhoff · · Score: 5, Funny

      Nevermind that, my metal impants caused me to be stuck to the ceiling for hours until it was finally switched off!

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    2. Re:There were no injuries by Dunbal · · Score: 2, Funny

      MRIs have pretty strong magnetic fields & don't hurt you

            Provided the EMT doesn't forget to take the oxygen cylinder out of the room....

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    3. Re:There were no injuries by RMB2 · · Score: 3, Funny

      I actually just spilled paint on my jeans this morning. I'd like to replace them with a pair of your "metal impants", they seem to have extraordinary properties

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    4. Re:There were no injuries by MrYotsuya · · Score: 2, Funny

      Or your doctor shoots you in the face.

      Dr. Cheney, I presume?

  3. Just reverse the polarity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...and make sure there aren't any redshirts around the next time you install it.

  4. Important safety tip by rheman1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    How many time do I have to tell you: Don't cross the streams!

    1. Re:Important safety tip by truthsearch · · Score: 4, Funny

      Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light. Total protonic reversal.

      Right. That's bad. Okay. All right. Important safety tip. Thanks.

  5. Oddone will speak again by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Where would someone called Oddone work if not at a place that creates black holes.

  6. Apparently... by DiamondGeezer · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...they're going to boost the mass spectrometer to 105% (for the extra resolution). It should be fine just so long as they follow standard insertion procedure...but you don't need to know that - everything will be fine.

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    1. Re:Apparently... by StarfishOne · · Score: 2, Funny

      If only they had rerouted auxiliary power via the main deflector dish this wouldn't have happened.. don't they teach anything in high school anymore? =/

  7. It all started when... by kpainter · · Score: 5, Funny

    "...research associate Gordon Freeman pushes a crystalline specimen into the beam of an over-charged anti-mass spectrometer, the experiment triggers a resonance cascade, which causes severe structural damage to the entire facility and severs communications with the outside world, and within much of the facility itself..." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mesa_Research_F acility#.22The_Black_Mesa_Incident.22

  8. Intelligent design at work! by master_p · · Score: 4, Funny

    God does not want us to dig a hole into His universe! that's why the new accelerator will never work!

  9. It was a... by master_p · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...resonance cascade failure! :-)

  10. Re:Not Magnet Failure?? by kestasjk · · Score: 5, Funny

    An "Oh shit - nobody thunk of that" moment which building a particle accelerator.. Promising.

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  11. Need more coffee by neildiamond · · Score: 2, Funny

    Did anyone else read that as hardon collider?

  12. Re:kinda funny, really... by Dunbal · · Score: 3, Funny

    so why wasn't this tagged "ha ha" ?

          We're saving the ha-ha for when Switzerland disappears and the remaining crater is filled with a large strawberry shortcake with extra anchovies.

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    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  13. That was no failure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    The researcher tasked with inputting The Numbers lost his faith and didn't press EXECUTE.

  14. Re:Not Magnet Failure?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    All science is theoretical until it either explodes or your sandwich goes moldy... ...and explodes.