CERN's Large Hadron Collider started -- are we still here? (updated with video)
By Thomas Ricker 
posted September 10th 2008 3:48AM
posted September 10th 2008 3:48AM
Hello? Tap, tap, tap, this thing on?
CERN's $9 billion, 17-mile long atom smasher was just turned on and we're awaiting reports on how the tests have gone. The Large Hadron Collider did experience "small electrical problems" overnight. However, these were not expected to delay the first test firing at 9:30am CEST. As such, the clockwise and counter-clockwise firing of particles should already be in progress.
Remember, no smashing will be done today, for that we'll have to wait until later this month. We'll update you here as things progress.
09:49 -- Confirmed, the first beam of protons has been fired! It took 48-seconds for the pulse to generate and then a tiny flash of light on a computer screen indicated a successful firing around the first 3-km of the 27-km ring -- they will methodically extend the range throughout the day.
10:25 -- The beam just completed the full ring (in stages) in less than an hour. Things are going much more quickly than expected. Counterclockwise test next.
12:18 -- CERN estimates that the LHC will be fully operational for physics work in the next few months. Added NASA-like video of the reaction to the full-loop, first beam success after the break (watch for two flashes on the left-most screen).
Note: Insert, the following string into VLC to watch live: mms://qstream-live.qbrick.com/00862live80910
Read -- small electrical issues
Read -- webcast (currently down)
Read -- First beam fired
CERN's $9 billion, 17-mile long atom smasher was just turned on and we're awaiting reports on how the tests have gone. The Large Hadron Collider did experience "small electrical problems" overnight. However, these were not expected to delay the first test firing at 9:30am CEST. As such, the clockwise and counter-clockwise firing of particles should already be in progress.
Remember, no smashing will be done today, for that we'll have to wait until later this month. We'll update you here as things progress.
09:49 -- Confirmed, the first beam of protons has been fired! It took 48-seconds for the pulse to generate and then a tiny flash of light on a computer screen indicated a successful firing around the first 3-km of the 27-km ring -- they will methodically extend the range throughout the day.
10:25 -- The beam just completed the full ring (in stages) in less than an hour. Things are going much more quickly than expected. Counterclockwise test next.
12:18 -- CERN estimates that the LHC will be fully operational for physics work in the next few months. Added NASA-like video of the reaction to the full-loop, first beam success after the break (watch for two flashes on the left-most screen).
Note: Insert, the following string into VLC to watch live: mms://qstream-live.qbrick.com/00862live80910
Read -- small electrical issues
Read -- webcast (currently down)
Read -- First beam fired
Why does everyone think there was going to be a collision on the 10th of september....the collisions are happening on the 21st of october and that is when they are going to create blackholes that kill us all
ref: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/LHC
I'm just waiting for Dr. Manhattan to pop out...
09:49 - Hardon confirmed. Firing was successful.
I never thought I'd see a resonance cascade, let alone create one.
Hmmm...The only words that keep going through my mind are Prepare for Unforeseen Consequences...
The safety opposition alleges CERN is misrepresenting the certainty of safety and did not properly address compelling safety rebuttal papers by credible senior scientists including visiting professor of Physics Dr. Otto Rössler and Physics PHD Dr. Rainer Plaga.
Dr. Steven Hawking estimates a 1% chance that micro black holes will be created by the Large Hadron Collider, CERN estimated possible micro black hole creation at one per second, micro black hole evaporation and cosmic ray safety arguments are disputed.
Dr. Rössler (of Chaos theory and Endophysics fame) calculates possible danger, senior Physics PHD Dr. Rainer Plaga (wrote one of the reports refuting CERN's safety conclusions) calculates possible danger, former Nuclear Safety Officer Walter L. Wagner (cosmic ray researcher and California Math champion) calculates possible danger.
CERN calculates no danger.
You can demand a safety conference before high energy collisions begin contact LHCDefense.org
LHCFacts.org
Has any remember reading revalations?.....Remember the Obyss....
They migt open a door to another dimension? Have none of you watched Event Horizon?
Gosh, it's just a big atom smasher, and the possibility of something dangerous to happen is too small for that something to happen ;) If it would have been real risk, scientists would inform us, or take measures against it, or, after all, never would have thought of taking this idea to reality. So stop worrying, listen to common sense and do not let this rumor by fools take over your mind. There are very little people, who really believe it's dangerous - http://www.votetheday.com/polls/worlds-largest-particle-accelerator-experiment-214/, but looks like panic is a very hazardous thing, ha?
I dont exist anymore--but it just took out the state of Ohio, and i'm willing to make that sacrifice. Thank me by voting Nader (if you're a US citizen) and, by not screaming "Obama" if you're not. Why? You will make McCain win--that's why! Palin wil make science illegal (if No Child's Behind Left hasnt already , wirth all their Christian charter schools that teach that there were "baby dinosaurs" on Noah's Ark) Seriously--very cool, peeps!
Can anyone remember reading revalations?.....Remember the Abyss....
Aww, look at you. You found a better online translator. Good for you, guy. Good for you.
Serious question: is it standard Engadget operating procedure to quiety correct boneheaded mistakes from articles (photons instead of protons) and then to remove comments that (I thought amusingly) point them out?
no, they're still there
Sadly but yes, big bro is looking after you.
Were actually inside hole... world wide suck hole. It dont matter if one hole changes another we wont feel nothing.
Hope they have collision insurance!
Chuck Norris approved?
Gordon Freeman possibly jumping to our universe to fix it before anything bad happens?
Wonder what else could happen?
Man's technology has exceeded his grasp. - 'The World is not Enough'
Zealous Nobel Prize hungry Physicists are racing each other and stopping at nothing to try to find the supposed 'Higgs Boson'(aka God) Particle, among others, and are risking nothing less than the annihilation of the Earth and all Life in endless experiments hoping to prove a theory when urgent tangible problems face the planet. The European Organization for Nuclear Research(CERN) new Large Hadron Collider(LHC) is the world's most powerful atom smasher that will soon be firing subatomic particles at each other at nearly the speed of light to create Miniature Big Bangs producing Micro Black Holes, Strangelets and other potentially cataclysmic phenomena.
Particle physicists have run out of ideas and are at a dead end forcing them to take reckless chances with more and more powerful and costly machines to create new and never-seen-before, unstable and unknown matter while Astrophysicists, on the other hand, are advancing science and knowledge on a daily basis making new discoveries in these same areas by observing the universe, not experimenting with it and with your life.
The LHC is a dangerous gamble as CERN physicist Alvaro De Rújula in the BBC LHC documentary, 'The Six Billion Dollar Experiment', incredibly admits quote, "Will we find the Higgs particle at the LHC? That, of course, is the question. And the answer is, science is what we do when we don't know what we're doing." And CERN spokesmodel Brian Cox follows with this stunning quote, "the LHC is certainly, by far, the biggest jump into the unknown."
The CERN-LHC website Mainpage itself states: "There are many theories as to what will result from these collisions,..." Again, this is because they truly don't know what's going to happen. They are experimenting with forces they don't understand to obtain results they can't comprehend. If you think like most people do that 'They must know what they're doing' you could not be more wrong. Some people think similarly about medical Dr.s but consider this by way of comparison and example from JAMA: "A recent Institute of Medicine report quoted rates estimating that medical errors kill between 44,000 and 98,000 people a year in US hospitals." The second part of the CERN quote reads "...but what's for sure is that a brave new world of physics will emerge from the new accelerator,..." A molecularly changed or Black Hole consumed Lifeless World? The end of the quote reads "...as knowledge in particle physics goes on to describe the workings of the Universe." These experiments to date have so far produced infinitely more questions than answers but there isn't a particle physicist alive who wouldn't gladly trade his life to glimpse the "God particle", and sacrifice the rest of us with him. Reason and common sense will tell you that the risks far outweigh any potential(as CERN physicists themselves say) benefits.
This quote from National Geographic exactly sums this "science" up: "That's the essence of experimental particle physics: You smash stuff together and see what other stuff comes out."
Find out more about that "stuff" below;
http://www.SaneScience.org/
http://www.LHCFacts.org
http://www.risk-evaluation-forum.org/anon1.htm
I watched the special on History last night and it was actually pretty funny. When they asked what we got out of previous particle accelerators, the scientist said that we got the internet. Since so mauch data needed to be transferred to universities for study, they created the hypertext protocols that became the basis for the WWW.
I just sat there and thought; well thats good and all that they created a huge communications backbone, but what did the actual experiments get us? One scientist said that cell phones and other radio devices were things that came from particle research. Uh cell phones are based off of 2 way radios that have been around since WWII. Smashing protons together didn't really have anything to do with it.
So really all of these experiments and the billions spent on them may never actually answer a thing. The last collider wasn't big enough so they built a bigger one. All to try and prove a theory that might not even be correct. We have a giant hole in our particle theory and we keep looking for something to make the theory right. Maybe we are just completely wrong and that is why we can't find the Higgs Boson. But so much money has been spent in the pursuit of finding the God particle that we don't want to give up.
In a few months we might create a whole bunch of micro black holes. Reminds me of Lexx, in the pursuit of finding the Higgs many advanced cultures perish at thier own hands because they were dumb enough to believe that they could figure out the deepest secrets of the universe.
You're right. It is much better to stop doing science.
But what has to do aladygma with it? in the new whitespace we can read 10 Sept. 9:39......strange!!!!
in europe, lhc does not colide particles, chuck norris does.
and in Soviet Russia, the Haron collides you.
We are all fine, but what about next year or 10 years later, one day a stupid scientist will make whole earth (and us as well) as small as an EGG size, I'm wondering how many minutes or hours this could take, the last moment of the earth, this is probably has happend to Aliens.
What I'm trying to say is, it's good idea we send out a message out of space, explaining what we are to do (including a full encyclopedia of History of Beautiful Earth, if something happens, at least we can leave in memories.
I think it is comical that folks think all those apparent black holes we see (er...sorta) "out there" are natural phenomena...
so whats to lose. This world so selfish, corrupt,we let our brothers and sisters starve we spoil the planet on which we live.we kill and torture each other in the name of god.
We the ordinary people of this earth are nothing but slaves to our masters who constantly and through out history have show thier selfish lack of feeling for the people and this planet and by their greed have always destroyed anything that stood in their way.
Want to see god------ keep watching
Oh, maybe I was venting a bit - but that's nothing compared to the rant I have now.
You .... persons .... who spread fearmongering nonsense have led to a child's death. This culture of fear resulted in a 16 year old Indian girl to commit suicide after watching a "the world is about to end" article on television.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26641652/
Now do you understand why I get upset about fearmongering nonsense?
Whoa, I found this crazy micro-black hole in my backyard! I keep feeding it stuff and it all disappears.
Oddly enough, it's growing slightly. I wonder what would happen if I put my finger in it?
That's it? That tiny little spark? All that for $9 Billion ???
That's it? Soldiers dying, a country destroyed, innocent Iraqis suffering? For $12 billion a MONTH???
Nice race track. Can't wait for a real race to start. Hope to see a lot of collisions and wrecks.
Yep, still alive and kicking here in Pittsburgh. And my sources there confirm India is still up too.
i think these crazy idiots are messing with mother nature!Maybe there is a reason we dont know what happened in the beggining of time!
Maybe we should leave the universe the way it is - we have done enough to our planet....let things be!Stop playing God and get over ur inferiority complex u power hungry chops!
Not that anyone here seems to care, but I'm compelled to tell you anyway:
1. The machine is not going to do the kinds of things that might make black holes until later this year.
2. The black holes it can (and probably will) make are microscopic. Because they are microscopic, it is believed that they will evaporate before ever pulling in other matter. Therefore they will be harmless.
3. If the calculations are wrong, and they do not evaporate quickly enough, the fear is that they will suck up tiny bits of matter and get pulled by the earth's gravity down to the earth's core. Because any atom that the thing touches will get sucked into it, there is no possible way of containing them. As they fall, they will simply drill a microscopic hole in the ground. There they will (very slowly at first because they are so incredibly small) pull in other matter and get bigger. By one person's calculations, they would take about four years to grow to the point where they would seriously damage things by sucking up enough of the earth's core to eventually cause the crust to collapse.
In short, our being here today does not mean anything. Our being here 5 to 10 years from now, however, will be a positive sign.
This is great! LHC Rools, SSC drools.