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Europe's LHC To Run At Half-Energy Through 2011

Posted by samzenpus on from the part-time-collision dept.

quaith writes "ScienceInsider reports that Europe's Large Hadron Collider will run at half its maximum energy through 2011 and likely not at all in 2012. The previous plan was to ramp it up to 70% of maximum energy this year. Under the new plan, the LHC will run at 7 trillion electron-volts through 2011. The LHC would then shut down for a year so workers could replace all of its 10,000 interconnects with redesigned ones allowing the LHC to run at its full 14 TeV capacity in 2013. The change raises hopes at the LHC's lower-energy rival, the Tevatron Collider at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, of being extended through 2012 instead of being shut down next year. Fermilab researchers are hoping that their machine might collect enough data to beat the LHC to the discovery of the Higgs boson, a particle key to how physicists explain the origin of mass."

15 of 194 comments (clear)

  1. Half-measures by LostCluster · · Score: 4, Funny

    Does this news mean we now only have to be half afraid that they're going to create a black hole that will destroy the Earth?

    1. Re:Half-measures by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Fortunately the scale is logarithmic.

      Unfortunately, it's not positively correlated.

    2. Re:Half-measures by LostCluster · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'm scared for all the half-lives at risk.

    3. Re:Half-measures by halcyon1234 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Does this news mean we now only have to be half afraid that they're going to create a black hole that will destroy the Earth?

      Nope, we need to be fully afraid that it will destroy half the world. Hopefully the other half.

      --
      UTF-8: There and Back Again
    4. Re:Half-measures by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      no, it just means they'll be right on schedule for the end of the world in 2012 when they crank it up to full power.

    5. Re:Half-measures by cbope · · Score: 2, Funny

      Where is Gordon Freeman when you need him?!?

  2. the Source of all the risk by tepples · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm scared for all the half-lives at risk.

    But what about all the counter-strikes and the portals?

  3. Full speed in 2013?? by Khan · · Score: 4, Funny

    Uh, HEL-LO?!! Have you guys forgotten that the world is going to end in 2012?!! I think you might want to ramp it up all the way in 2011...just in case.

    --

    "Klaatu, verada, necktie!" -Ash

  4. Re:My LHC... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    It brings all the boys to your yard...

  5. Re:Where is the Outrage... by Alcohol+Fueled · · Score: 2, Funny

    I think you misunderstand how larger government woks projects are run, and why.

    Not if he's Chinese.

    --
    Ah am not a crook! (\(-__-)/)
  6. Another way to look at it by failedlogic · · Score: 5, Funny

    In an equally optimistic point of view, if Higgs boson is later shown to not exist, the Tevatron Collider can claim that it was able to not find it before the LHC!

  7. So the bird was carrying a sliced bagel this time by gemada · · Score: 3, Funny

    and only dropped half

  8. Re:Where is the Outrage... by PhreakOfTime · · Score: 3, Funny
    alright... looks like its time to replace the batteries in my wireless keyboard.

    At least its still spelled correctly, even if it is a grammatical abomination.

  9. Re:Where is the Outrage... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Frankly, I'm a little sick of the "outrage" every time something doesn't go as planned. Since when does the universe have to play nice all the time?

    Hello? Since Obama was elected. Duh.

  10. Re:Where is the Outrage... by Webcommando · · Score: 4, Funny

    OMG..The real truth is out there. This is just an excuse to have the device shut down during 2012. They didn't want to be responsible for the 2012 Mayan prophecy coming true. It make so much sense now!

    Not that I believe that sort of thing but it is the first thought that popped in my head while reading the summary.

    --
    I love the sound of distortion in the morning -- webcommando