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CERN Announces Collider Startup Delay

perturbed1 writes "The 142nd session of the CERN Council saw Organizational Director General Robert Aymar announcing a delay in the activation of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The installation will start up in May 2008, taking 'the first steps towards studying physics at a new high-energy frontier.' Such a delay was foreseen due to the quadrupole accident, which we've previously discussed. This gives extra time for Fermilab physicists to try to understand the latest interesting hints of the Higgs boson, as well as give much needed extra-time for the detectors at CERN to get ready for data taking. Given that it will be fall before the LHC detectors take any useful data from collisions at 14TeV, could Fermilab collect enough data for a 5-sigma discovery by then?"

10 of 98 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Higgs boson by QuantumG · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yup, which suggests that discovering it, and understanding it, may give us some control over mass and inertia.. or, to put that in layman's terms: anti-gravity. A nice infinite source of free energy might be in there too. Who knows.

    --
    How we know is more important than what we know.
  2. Re:Time is running out for Fermilab by weg · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'd love for the scientists at Fermilab to make this sort of breakthrough before the LHC goes live, ...

    Well, Fermilab has already made the first step towards this goal.
    According to /., the parts of the LHC that caused the delay were designed by Fermilab ;-)

    --
    Georg
  3. But, the iPhone.... by rueger · · Score: 3, Funny

    Judging by the fourteen glowing reviews posted since the beginning of this month I'm sure that the launch of the innovative iPhone technology will surely solve all of CERN's problems.

    Or at least let them watch YouTube while waiting for repairs.

  4. Uncertainty by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Naturally. You know either where the LHC is located, or when it will start, but not both.

  5. Re:Higgs boson by maxume · · Score: 2, Funny

    What about hookers and beer?

    --
    Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
  6. Re:Time is running out for Fermilab by Barryke · · Score: 1, Funny

    the parts of the LHC that caused the delay were designed by Fermilab ;-) Most beleive that comming out of the trees was the first mistake.

    Delay due to fault?
    I beleive that in the year 3243 mankind embarks on the journey to go back to the past to prevent the 21st century misfire of this quantum shredder. Mankind found out about the action to undertake in a 11 page book found at a underground pyramid beneath a maya territory, and gave no clue as how or who put it there, and how they knew the change has to be made. Noone knows how the paradox history-pedia writers knew about it all, even where the timetravel technology came from is unanwered.

    Luckely in 2804 an covert organization finds another history-pedia explaining how to stop the (then in the future) 3243-pedia actions from succeeding. The 3243-pedia turns out to be a bigmistake and damages the climate beyond repair. Three covert agents beleive it wasn't a mistake at all, but a act of evil. They assumed it was nothing more than a coincidence that they shared a big portion of their DNA, upto matching fingerprint features. :(

    Noone knew what happened to bring it this far.. Who put the 3243-pedia there? How did they know it would be discovered at the right time, place, and organization? Was the big mistake actually a previous attemt to fix history, or did someone gain from it?
    Yet will never know as ultimatly it didn't happen, anymore.

    Or it could just be a stroke of bad luck for fermilab.
    --
    Hivemind harvest in progress..
  7. What did you expect? by Bombula · · Score: 4, Funny
    CERN Announces Collider Startup Delay

    Well, time does slow down when you're moving close to the speed of light ...

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    A-Bomb
  8. Am I The First To Say... by CWRUisTakingMyMoney · · Score: 4, Funny

    Physicists get hadrons!

    --
    Those who anthropomorphize science and/or nature already believe in an intelligent designer.
  9. Re: Schrodinger's Cat ? by dintech · · Score: 2, Funny

    You're about to observe a quantum state. Cancel and allow?

  10. Re:workin hard, boss by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    But but but...we have Restaurant 1 and Restaurant 2! Take that, Fermilab!