Engadget

CERN scientists explain what would happen if you put your hand in the LHC's beam (video)

Donald Melanson — Fri, 04 May 2012 14:31:00 EST

Sure, concerns about the Large Hadron Collider creating a world-destroying black hole may have been more or less put to rest, but there's still plenty of pressing questions that remain unanswered. Like, what would happen if you put your hand in the beam? The folks from Sixty Symbols recently asked some physicists that very question and got some rather puzzled responses, so they went straight to CERN itself to get a definitive answer. You can see that in full after the break, but the short version is that it's something like the force of a moving aircraft carrier concentrated down to a laser-like one-millimeter-wide beam (accompanied by a wider beam of particles that would irradiate your entire body). Bad news. As they're quick to point out, though, actually getting anywhere near the beam is virtually impossible.

Continue reading CERN scientists explain what would happen if you put your hand in the LHC's beam (video)

CERN scientists explain what would happen if you put your hand in the LHC's beam (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 May 2012 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

CERN crew takes to Google+ for live Hangout

Terrence O'Brien — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:43:00 EST

Got questions for CERN crew? We know we do. For instance, if a Higgs boson falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it still create a miniature black hole that swallows the Earth and destroys us all? Well if you've got queries for the folks working the LHC, attempting to unlock the secrets of the universe then hit up the source link for a live Hangout at that most nerdy of social networks Google+. The conversation starts at 1 pm eastern time.

CERN crew takes to Google+ for live Hangout originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Large Hadron Collider to increase beam energy: Higgs boson can run, not hide

James Trew — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:18:00 EST

We've seen the Large Hadron Collider running at a record-breaking 7 TeV for short periods, but now CERN is turning it up a notch (to 4 TeV from 3.5) for the rest of the year. The decision comes after an annual performance workshop last week in Chamonix and a report from the CERN Machine Advisory Committee (CMAC). The increase may seem modest compared to the knee-trembling levels of 7 TeV, but it's all part of a broader optimization strategy. Scientists state the new approach should increase the data collected in 2012 to 15 inverse femtobarns -- a three-fold jump from 2011. Even more encouraging is a statement from CERN's Research Director, Sergio Bertolucci, who claims that we should finally know for sure about the existence of the Higgs boson -- either way -- before the LHC enters a temporary shut-down period at the end of the year. Beam yourself over the break for the full press release.

Continue reading Large Hadron Collider to increase beam energy: Higgs boson can run, not hide

Large Hadron Collider to increase beam energy: Higgs boson can run, not hide originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

LHC discovers 'particle', starts repaying back that five billion

Daniel Cooper — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 09:41:00 EST

The Large Hadron Collider at CERN was built to discover new l~~ife forms and new civilizations~~ particles to complete the Standard Model of physics, of which the Higgs-Boson is only a part. The $5 billion project has finally found something previously unseen, according to the BBC. ATLAS has picked up Chi-b 3P: a ~~Boson (building block of nature)~~ Meson comprised of a "beauty quark" and a "beauty anti-quark," bound together with a strong nuclear force -- believed to exist in nature, but never seen until now. Yesterday's discovery is so new, it hasn't even had a sigma rating yet, but we don't expect CERN to confirm the find until its next two hour keynote.

Update: The initial report described the particle as a Boson (elemental force carriers), it is in fact a Meson (which comprise of a quark and an anti-quark).

LHC discovers 'particle', starts repaying back that five billion originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Dec 2011 09:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Caltech sets 186Gbps Internet speed record, makes our 5Mbps look even more inadequate (video)

Daniel Cooper — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:11:00 EST

Did you know that the Large Hadron Collider at CERN has already produced 100 petabytes of data that needed to be sent out to labs across the world for analysis? Pushing that amount of information across the Internet is a gargantuan task, which is why Caltech teamed up with the Universities of Victoria, Michigan and Florida (International) amongst others to try and break the internet speed record. Using commercially available gear (including Dell servers with SSDs), it was able to push 98Gbps and pull 88Gbps down a single 100Gbps fibre-optic connection between the Washington State convention center in Seattle and the University of Victoria computing center in British Columbia. Head on past the break for a video that shows you how it was done and why it probably won't be commercially available in time to super-size your Netflix queue.

Continue reading Caltech sets 186Gbps Internet speed record, makes our 5Mbps look even more inadequate (video)

Caltech sets 186Gbps Internet speed record, makes our 5Mbps look even more inadequate (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

CERN: 'Don't believe the Higgs-Boson hype' (update: not yet)

Daniel Cooper — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:47:00 EST

CERN is pouring cold water on the rumor it's gonna announce the discovery of the Higgs at today's seminar in Zurich. For the uninitiated: the Higgs-Boson is the particle that is believed to give all things mass: it surrounds us, penetrates us and binds the galaxy together. The scuttlebutt is that the ATLAS sensor picked up a Higgs with a mass of 125GeV (gigaelectronvolts) and rated at three-point-five-sigma -- a one sigma barely warrants a mention, a five-sigma is a bona-fide scientific discovery. CERN hasn't confirmed or denied anything, claiming it's still got five inverse femtobarns worth of data (roughly 5 x 70 x 10^12 of individual collisions) to examine before it can be sure, so just chuck the one bottle of champagne into the refrigerator -- better to be safe, eh?

Update: Looks like we don't need to bust out the bubbly, after all. The conclusion from the two-hour presentation is that the ATLAS detector has been able to narrow down the region it believes the Higgs is in to 115.5GeV to 131GeV and that any discovery so-far only has a rating of two point three sigma. The CMS is similarly inconclusive, with results bobbing around the two sigma region. In short, whilst they know where they should look, they haven't been able to find one -- yet.

CERN: 'Don't believe the Higgs-Boson hype' (update: not yet) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Pour one out for the Tevatron particle accelerator, because it's shutting down today

Amar Toor — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 08:43:00 EST

The eyes of the physics community are collectively fixed upon Illinois today, where, later this afternoon, researchers at Fermilab will shut down the Tevatron particle accelerator... for good. That's right -- the world's second-largest collider is being laid to rest, after a remarkable 25-year run that was recently halted due to budgetary constraints. Earlier this year, Fermilab's scientists and a group of prominent physicists pleaded with the government to keep the Tevatron running until 2014, but the Energy Department ultimately determined that the lab's $100 million price tag was too steep, effectively driving a nail through the accelerator's subterranean, four-mile-long coffin. First activated in 1985, the Tevatron scored a series of subatomic breakthroughs over the course of its lifespan, including, most notably, the discovery of the so-called top quark in 1995. Its groundbreaking technology, meanwhile, helped pave the way for CERN's Large Hadron Collider, which will now pursue the one jewel missing from the Tevatron's resume -- the Higgs boson. Many experts contend that the collider could've gone on to achieve much more, but its ride will nonetheless come to an inglorious end at 2PM today, when Fermilab director Pier Oddone oversees the Tevatron's last rites. "That will be it," physicist Gregorio Bernardi told the Washington Post. "Then we'll have a big party."

Pour one out for the Tevatron particle accelerator, because it's shutting down today originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 08:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

CERN's LHC@home 2.0 project simulates a Large Hadron Collider in the cloud

Lydia Leavitt — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 03:11:00 EST

"You break it, you bought it," came to mind when researchers at the Centre for European Nuclear Research (CERN) announced the LHC@home 2.0 project, giving us regular Joes access to the Large Hadron Collider. OK, we kid; the reality is that much like SETI@home and Folding@home, a whole group of volunteering home computers link up together, and while idle they quietly help simulate LHC particle collisions according to CERN's theoretical models. Scientists there then compare these results with those from actual LHC experiments in order to check for any instrumental or theoretical errors, thus potentially speeding up the mission to find the God particle in a low cost manner.

Besides being a great way to get your science on, the cloud-based program also makes CERN's resources (like crisis mapping and damage assessment) available to researchers in developing nations that may not to be able to afford the accelerator's $6 billion dollar price tag -- but nowadays, what nation can?

Continue reading CERN's LHC@home 2.0 project simulates a Large Hadron Collider in the cloud

CERN's LHC@home 2.0 project simulates a Large Hadron Collider in the cloud originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 03:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Large Hadron Collider smashes beam intensity record, inches closer to discovering God particle

Terrence O'Brien — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 14:51:00 EST

Already a record holder for mashing protons together at 7 TeV (trillion electron volts), the Large Hadron Collider can now add world's brightest beam to its list of accomplishments. Beam intensity is a way of measuring the number of collisions in its 17-mile-long track, and a higher intensity means more impacts -- which, in turn, means more data, increasing the likelihood that the elusive Higgs boson will rear its head (should such a thing exist). The LHC smashed the previous luminosity record set last year by the Tevatron collider. What's next for the CERN team, with two world records under its belt? Largest beard of bees.

Continue reading Large Hadron Collider smashes beam intensity record, inches closer to discovering God particle

Large Hadron Collider smashes beam intensity record, inches closer to discovering God particle originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 14:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Theorists get us closer to believing time travel is possible via the Large Hadron Collider

Darren Murph — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 03:35:00 EST

Hard to say if Doc Brown would give this his coveted seal of approval, but our gullible minds have already been made up: time travel is not only possible, but it's well within reach. A gaggle of scientists have apparently figured out a theory that could use the Large Hadron Collider to move a Higgs singlet back and forth through time. The 'catch' is that they have yet to prove the existence of said singlet, but the upside is that nothing in theory violates any laws of physics or experimental constraints. In other words, this wouldn't enable a human to move back and forth along the universal timetable à la Fringe, but it could allow for messages to be sent forward and back. About 14 other improbable things have to happen before this could even be tested, but if you're even remotely interested in the concept (c'mon, you are), you owe it to yourself to give those source links a peek.

Theorists get us closer to believing time travel is possible via the Large Hadron Collider originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 Mar 2011 03:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Large Hadron Collider wants to make mini Big Bangs, Sheldon and Leonard disapprove

Laura June — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 17:52:00 EST

The Large Hadron Collider has been busily colliding protons since it opened last year, but a new set of experiments starting later this month could tell us more about the beginnings of the universe than we've ever known before. At CERN, where the LHC is housed in Geneva, scientists will attempt to create mini Big Bangs (the full-sized one is generally accepted as having created the actual universe about 13.7 billion years ago). The process will involve shooting lead ions through the 17-mile long collider, and accelerating them to relativistic speeds before colliding them head-on with protons. According to popular wisdom this should cause an explosion resulting in the creation of brand spanking new particles. Although similar experiments have been conducted on a much smaller scale at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, this will be the first time scientists have attempted to accurately recreate conditions exactly like the Big Bang. Hit the source link for the full story.

Large Hadron Collider wants to make mini Big Bangs, Sheldon and Leonard disapprove originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 17:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

What would happen if you put your hand in the Large Hadron Collider? Er, well, um... (video)

Vlad Savov — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 05:28:00 EST

Scientists, they've made our lives infinitely easier, healthier, and longer, but sometimes even their giant intellects can be stumped. Here we have a perfect example of such a scenario, where the seemingly innocuous question of what might happen if one were to dip a hand inside the Large Hadron Collider has generated a wide range of hypotheses, none of which sound particularly assured of being correct. The trouble is that, aside from the known unknowns -- such as whether the accelerated protons would crash and explode upon contact with your hand or just pass through -- there are surely unknown unknowns that will likely become apparent only once you try to do the act itself. So, any volunteers?

Continue reading What would happen if you put your hand in the Large Hadron Collider? Er, well, um... (video)

What would happen if you put your hand in the Large Hadron Collider? Er, well, um... (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 05:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Has the Higgs Boson been discovered by LHC rival? Are we still here? (Update: No Higgs discovery, and we're still here)

Laura June — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:31:00 EST

The Large Hadron Collider isn't the only bad boy on the block looking for the so-called God particle -- technically known as the Higgs Boson. A lesser known facility, the Tevatron -- located at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois -- has also been furiously searching for the particle which would help to explain the origins of mass in the universe -- and it looks like they might have found it. A rumor has been swirling about recently that the found particle is a "three-sigma," meaning that it's got a 99.7 percent statistical likelihood of being correct -- but the lab itself has yet to confirm or deny. The Tevatron, which was completed 27 years ago, is the second largest accelerator in the world (after the LHC) and it's expected to be retired once the CERN facility is fully operational.

Update: Well, that was fun for the few hours that it lasted. New Scientist has published a piece confirming that Tevatron is in fact denying the rumor, and no Higgs Boson discovery has gone down.

Has the Higgs Boson been discovered by LHC rival? Are we still here? (Update: No Higgs discovery, and we're still here) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

LHCsound brings the noise, asks how low Higgs boson can go

Tim Stevens — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:11:00 EST

God particle. The Champagne bottle boson. Non-existon. Mysteron. The Higgs boson particle is certainly known by a lot of names, and now we can add another to the list: rock god. The UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council has created "LHCsound: the sound of science." It's a series of (confusingly organized) pages offering acoustic renditions of the Large Hadron Collider's greatest hits, like proton collision, detector sweeps, and, our favorite, simulated Higgs Boson delay, which you can hear after the break. The data created by the energy and frequency of particle decay is used to modify the sound of running water, resulting in a generally creepy effect. We think it'd be perfect for accompanying your next foggy exploration of Silent Hill, but perhaps the next episode of Half Life 2 would be more appropriate.

[Thanks, John C.]

Continue reading LHCsound brings the noise, asks how low Higgs boson can go

LHCsound brings the noise, asks how low Higgs boson can go originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Large Hadron Collider to search for God Particle using 7 TeV proton collisions, via live webcast (update: first collisions, video!)

Vlad Savov — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 07:07:00 EST

The Large Hadron Collider is about to turn useful, people. Having recently jacked up its particle acceleration power to create 3.5 TeV (trillion electron volts) collisions, the researchers are today pressing ahead with plans to go to a full 7 TeV, which -- you won't be surprised to hear -- has never been done before. Provided the requisite 3.5 TeV per beam is reached, sustained and properly channeled into creating useful collisions, CERN will finally have the data it needs to start its long-awaited physics program based off the findings provided by the LHC. Best of all? The latest world record attempt is being broadcast live over the web right now so why not hit up that link below to witness some history in the making?

Update: The momentous first protonic collisions at 7 TeV have just taken place, at just past 1PM CET. Now the time comes for researchers to parse all the incoming raw data, pore over it, analyze it, etc. We'll leave that to them, it's not like you can expect the God Particle to be discovered instantly. To fill the time, we invite you to come past the break for our blow-by-blow updating adventure from this morning plus video of the big moment.

Continue reading Large Hadron Collider to search for God Particle using 7 TeV proton collisions, via live webcast (update: first collisions, video!)

Large Hadron Collider to search for God Particle using 7 TeV proton collisions, via live webcast (update: first collisions, video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 07:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

LHC breaks its own energy record, still less powerful than Lady Gaga

Laura June — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:14:00 EST

The Large Hadron Collider is no stranger to setting energy records: back at the end of November it broke the 0.98 TeV record by hitting the 1.18 TeV mark. Well, the problem beleaguered collider's just handily surpassed itself -- this time with a truly stunning 3.5 TeV -- with beams of protons on record as having circulated at 3.5 trillion electron volt. Now, we're not scientists or anything, but that sure is a lot of volts! CERN's moving on later this week and will begin colliding the beams so they can check out the tiniest particles within atoms in the hopes of finding out more about how matter's made up. We look forward to hearing all about that, too -- but until then, we made do by reading the source over and over.

LHC breaks its own energy record, still less powerful than Lady Gaga originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Report: Large Hadron Collider producing tons of awesome collisions

Laura June — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:30:00 EST

Hey, now, this is some great news, right? The trouble-plagued Large Hadron Collider looks to be doing a bang up job in some of its primary tasks. After breaking the energy record previously held by the Tevatron particle accelerator back at the end of November, 2009, reports are now coming in that the LHC is, in fact, producing some extremely high energy collisions. A research team led by MIT, CERN and the KFKI Research Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics in Budapest, Hungary have released a report detailing findings that the collisions are producing an "unexpectedly" high number of particles called mesons, subatomic particles composed of one quark and one antiquark. The research is considered one of the first steps in the search for rarer particles, and the elusive, theoretical Higgs Boson. The paper, published in the Journal of High Energy Physics has led scientists to fine-tuning their predictive models for how many mesons will be found in even higher energy collisions. Hit the read link for the full, high energy news.

Report: Large Hadron Collider producing tons of awesome collisions originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Large Hadron Collider schedules holiday for 2012, full 7 TeV power for 2013

Vlad Savov — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 08:20:00 EST

It's good to know that even huge inanimate objects appreciate the need for a work-life balance. After a nice winter hiatus, Switzerland's Large Hadron Collider is coming back online soon, set to resume smashing protonic beams at one another with the force of 3.5 trillion electron-volts (TeV) per beam, or 7 TeV in total. We have to swallow hard when we hear such force described as "low-energy," but that's what the LHC designers consider it, and moreover we're learning they'll skip past the middle and go for the full 14 TeV potential smashes after a retooling break during 2012. Although this may delay the discovery of the Higgs boson particle, other physics research shouldn't be stalled in the meantime -- scientists claim they'll be able to extract data from the low-energy collisions that could lend us more information on aspects of string theory, extra dimensions, and supersymmetry. Doesn't all this sound like nerds trying to avoid getting real jobs?

Large Hadron Collider schedules holiday for 2012, full 7 TeV power for 2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 08:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Large Hadron Collider grinds to a halt... again

Laura June — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:55:00 EST

In an increasingly unsurprising turn of events, the Large Hadron Collider suffered a major power failure this morning, knocking the machine and its website out of service. The failure occurred in an 18,000-volt power line in Meyrin, Geneva where the LHC is housed beneath the ground, causing pretty much everything to shut down. The LHC's magnets maintained a temperature of 1.9 degrees above absolute zero (having to re-cool them would have been a pretty sizeable setback), however, and no long-term damage seems to have occurred. The trouble-prone Large Hadron Collider is expected to resume full operations sometime later today, and is currently operating on limited power from a backup supply. Regardless, the unfortunate event is sure to resurrect that zany Higgs boson time-travelling theory.

Large Hadron Collider grinds to a halt... again originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Large Hadron Collider breaks energy record, still won't power a toaster

Thomas Ricker — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:53:00 EST

CERN's Large Hadron Collider just made the record books for something other than the cost of building a 27km-long circular tunnel. After achieving its first collision on Tuesday, the LHC roared beyond a trillion electron volts (1.18 TeV to be exact) literally smashing the 0.98 TeV energy record held by the Tevatron particle accelerator in Chicago since 2001. So far the LHC had been operating at a relatively modest 450 billion electron volts as it pushes up to full capacity of some 7 trillion electron volts. All that's left now is the minor issue of unlocking the secrets of the universe when the real scientific testing gets underway early next year.

Large Hadron Collider breaks energy record, still won't power a toaster originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Large Hadron Collider reboots, makes first protonic bang!

Vlad Savov — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:42:00 EST

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that most epic triumph of human engineering and physics research has finally taken place, and strangely enough our planet's still in one piece too. The search for the Higgs boson particle resumed yesterday, somewhere under the Franco-Swiss border, with the CERN research team successfully executing what the LHC was built to do -- accelerating proton beams to nearly the speed of light, then filming the wreckage as they crash into each other. Having encountered a number of bumps in the road, the researchers have had to significantly scale down the energy at which their early collisions will take place, with the very first ones said to have happened at 900 billion electron volts. Still, plans are afoot for an imminent shift up to 1.2 trillion electron volts (TeV), which would be the highest energy level any particle accelerator has achieved yet, before a ramp up to 7 TeV over the coming year if all goes well.

Large Hadron Collider reboots, makes first protonic bang! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Large Hadron Collider is online, Higgs boson be damned

Ross Miller — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:26:00 EST

"We have captured it! First circulating beam of 2009!" And with that tweet, researchers at CERN announced that they did in fact activate the Large Hadron Collider, after quite a long delay and despite warnings of a looming, nefarious Higgs boson. Whether or not we will have had total destruction as an unfortunate result of the device remains to be seen, but should the future find a way to either cease to exist or travel to the past in some time-bending paradox, we only hope linguists and physicists can work together and figure out the proper verb conjugations for this brave new world.

Filed under: Science

Large Hadron Collider is online, Higgs boson be damned originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Large Hadron Collider staying cool at just a hair above absolute zero temperatures

Ross Miller — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:29:00 EST

Ah, Large Hadron Collider, our old frienemy, how close is thy doomsday clock now? Closer than it was last week, naturally, especially now that the temperature in each of its eight sectors has been dropped to 1.9 Kelvin, or -271 degrees Celsius / -456 Fahrenheit, depending on your equivalent measurement of choice. While pretty much lethal for humans, that's still twice as warm as the Boomerang Nebula some 5,000 light years away from our fair planet, making it a veritable vacation spot for those carnivorous inhabitants of the Centaurus constellation (not that they'd really want to make that big of a trek without some sort of pre-planned hotel accommodations, but we digress). The chill is all a part of the massive science experiment's ramp up to its second half of November relaunch -- assuming the personification of Higgs boson doesn't pop in via its proverbial TARDIS equivalent wearing a cape and carrying an anti-LHC particle gun, that is.

Large Hadron Collider staying cool at just a hair above absolute zero temperatures originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Might Higgs boson be a time-traveling ne'er do well out to destroy the LHC?

Joseph L. Flatley — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:53:00 EST

We've certainly seen our fair share of crackpot theories regarding the Large Hadron Collider, and quite frankly the whole thing is becoming rather old hat. That said, when the New York Times comes up with something as far out as this, we most certainly have to share it with you. It seems that way back in July, 2007 two theoretical physicists (Danish string theory pioneer Holger Bech Nielsen and the Japanese physicist Masao Ninomiya), proposed an unlikely explanation as to why the LHC and the Superconducting Supercollider before it seem to be particularly accident prone. According to science writer Dennis Overbye, the Higgs boson (which the collider has been designed to observe) "might be so abhorrent to nature that its creation would ripple backward through time and stop the collider before it could make one, like a time traveler who goes back in time to kill his grandfather." Makes sense, right? Of course, we don't have any idea how these elementary particles might actually conduct the business of destroying equipment, but that hasn't stopped the duo from proposing a novel way to test this theory.

According to a paper published earlier this month, a simple deck of cards could be made, either out of construction paper or, if you're feeling high tech, simulated on a computer. The deck would have one card indicating that the LHC should be shut down, and a much larger number of cards (maybe 100 million or so) that indicate that everything is good to go. If you draw the death card, as it were, you can bet that the shadowy hand of the Higgs boson is stretching back in time, telling you to halt the operation. Between all this and the proposed hyperdrive propulsion tests we came across a couple days ago, things are starting to get very Philip K. Dick over at CERN. Can we make one suggestion? Instead of a random number generator, why not Tarot cards? Or a Ouija board? You know, go for a Halloween vibe.

[Via New Scientist]

Filed under: Science

Might Higgs boson be a time-traveling ne'er do well out to destroy the LHC? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Physicist wants to test Hyperdrive Propulsion in Large Hadron Collider

Joseph L. Flatley — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:14:00 EST

How come news can never come out of the Large Hadron Collider that doesn't remind us of our planet's impending SciFi Techno-Apocalypse(tm)? When not busy being called a doomsday machine, being bedeviled by hackers and Chuck Norris (yuck!), or just plain failing, the facility could be used to test "hyperdrive" spacecraft propulsion. Seriously! And you know what that means -- someone is planning on escaping the planet, and fast. A physicist named Franklin Felber has been musing over a little known German paper from the 1920s ("The Foundations of Physics" by David Hilbert) which states, in part, that under certain conditions a stationary mass should repel a relativistic particle. If this is true, Felber, concludes, then shouldn't a relativistic particle repel a stationary mass? According to MIT's Technology Review, the LHC would be the perfect place to test this idea: Felber could "set up a test mass next to the beam line and measure the forces on it as the particles whiz past." The experiment could be run in tandem with the collider's other work -- and who knows? Mankind may soon be on its way to the stars at near-light speeds. Let's just hope we figure this out before the robots take over.

[Via Technology Review]

Filed under: Science

Physicist wants to test Hyperdrive Propulsion in Large Hadron Collider originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Large Hadron Collider to run at half-power until end of 2010

Donald Melanson — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:19:00 EST

After a series of setbacks, delays, and potential world-ending mishaps, it seems that the scientists at CERN have decided to take it easy with the Large Hadron Collider, and have announced that they plan to operate it at an energy of 3.5 TeV (or trillion electron volts) per beam when they start it up again in November of this year. If that goes well, they'll then cautiously ramp things up to 5 TeV per beam, before starting to shoot for a full 7 TeV per beam by the end of 2010. So, mark your calendars... while you still can.

Filed under: Science

Large Hadron Collider to run at half-power until end of 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Large Hadron Collider restart, end of the world pushed back to mid-November

Donald Melanson — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 04:14:00 EST

Still undecided about what to do with those precious few months before the biggest doomsday since Y2K? Then you're in luck, 'cause the much anticipated / feared restart of the Large Hadron Collider has now been delayed yet again, almost exactly a month after the last delay. This time it looks like a couple of vacuum leaks are the culprit, and CERN says that the collider is now unlikely to restart before mid-November, which just so happens to coincide with the peak of the Leonids meteor shower. Coincidence? Yes, yes it is.

Filed under: Science

Large Hadron Collider restart, end of the world pushed back to mid-November originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jul 2009 04:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Large Hadron restart delayed again -- you can relax until October

Tim Stevens — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 07:27:00 EST

If you were enjoying these warmer months, taking time away from terrestrial black hole spotting due to the continued deactivation of CERN's Large Hadron Collider, feel free to extend those summer vacation plans a little bit. The particle crasher and supposed non-threat to life as we know it was previously set to restart in September after some damage put it on the inactive list many moons ago. Now CERN's Head of Communications, James Gillies, is saying that the restart is likely to be smashed back a few more weeks into October, meaning New Englanders might just get in one more leaf peeping season before all we know is mashed into an incomprehensibly small ball of matter from which nothing can escape -- not even Gundam robots.

[Via MSNBC]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Large Hadron restart delayed again -- you can relax until October originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 07:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Large Hadron Collider restart delayed till September

Darren Murph — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 09:11:00 EST

Oh, bollocks! When CERN's Large Hadron Collider started up this past September, we figured it was only a matter of time before the world as we knew it imploded. Thus, we did as any reasonable group of individuals would do and evaporated our life savings before being beamed up. Now, we're stuck waiting around (with four or five pennies) for this September, as that's the new restart date following the LHC's run-in with bad luck late last year. If all goes to plan this go 'round, the machine will run into autumn of 2010, when engineers will hopefully see collisions of lead ions. Needless to say, gurus are implementing a new enhanced protection system to keep things from going so wrongly again, but you never can tell what'll happen when smashing atoms, now can you?

[Via CNET]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Large Hadron Collider restart delayed till September originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Feb 2009 09:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Large Hadron Collider damaged and we have the photos to prove it

Joseph L. Flatley — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 03:41:00 EST

Is it possible that shoddy workmanship has once again saved the planet from an untimely demise? Not really, but this next tale should give our paranoiac readers plenty to mull over regardless. CERN has recently released pics of damage wrought when an electrical fault caused a liquid helium leak a mere nine days after the Large Hadron Collider started smashing atoms in September, wrecking interconnects between the magnets in sectors three and four. According to CNET, the doomsday machine will be out of commission until at least summer of 2009. So breathe a sigh of relief, little ones... and pray that the grey goo or the replicant hordes don't get us in the meantime. Hit the read link for all the pics.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Large Hadron Collider damaged and we have the photos to prove it originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 03:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

World's largest computing grid lives to go live

Darren Murph — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:21:00 EST

Contrary to popular belief, the world as we know it didn't implode after the Large Hadron Collider was flipped on. Sure -- someone, somewhere is growing a ninth arm and trying desperately to land a cameo on Fringe, but the planet at large is still humming along just fine. Now, the world's most ginormous computing grid (the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid, or WLCG) has gone live, and the gurus behind it are celebrating the beginning of its momentous data challenge: to analyze and manage over 15 million gigabytes of data each year. The Grid combines the IT power of over 140 computer centers, 100,000 processors and the collaborative efforts of 33 countries. Unfortunately, there's no word on when the official WLCG-based Call of Duty 4 server will be green-lit for action, but we hear it's pretty high on the priorities list.

[Via China View]

Filed under: Desktops, Misc. Gadgets

World's largest computing grid lives to go live originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hackers hit LHC computer system, deemed "scary experience"

Donald Melanson — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:43:00 EST

Those already fearful of the Large Hadron Collider's potential Earth-ending capabilities may want to turn away for this one, as it looks like the situation has managed to get a bit more perilous, with a team of hackers apparently successful in mounting an attack on a system that is "one step away" from the computer system that controls of one of the LHC's massive detectors. According to The Telegraph newspaper, the group, calling itself the "Greek Security Team," left behind a half a dozen files on the system and damaged one CERN file, in addition to displaying the page above on the cmsmon.cern.ch website, which still remained inaccessible as of Friday. Somewhat disconcertingly, one of the scientists working at CERN simply described the incident as a "scary experience," with a CERN spokesperson further adding that they thought it was just someone "making the point that [the system] was hackable." Um, okaaaay.

[Via CNET News]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Hackers hit LHC computer system, deemed "scary experience" originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

CERN's Large Hadron Collider started -- are we still here? (updated with video)

Thomas Ricker — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 03:48:00 EST

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

Continue reading CERN's Large Hadron Collider started -- are we still here? (updated with video)

CERN's Large Hadron Collider started -- are we still here? (updated with video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Sep 2008 03:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

CERN's LHC 'First Beam' to be broadcast live on Wednesday

Thomas Ricker — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:54:00 EST

Set your alarms and kiss the kids goodbye, CERN will be providing a live webcast of the Large Hadron Collider's "First Beam" maiden voyage on Wednesday. Let us know how it goes, we'll be holed-up inside grandpa's bombshelter with our canned turnips and 10th anniversary Heaven's Gate Nikes -- remember, two-knocks if it's safe else we'll assume you're a robot.

[Thanks, Rui]

Read -- Webcast starting Wed, Sep10 at 09:00 CEST (calculated globally)
Read -- Satellite broadcast

CERN's LHC 'First Beam' to be broadcast live on Wednesday originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

World to end Wednesday

Nilay Patel — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:56:00 EST

Well, not really -- the actual experiments that could result in potentially disastrous "micro black holes" won't happen for another month (and probably won't end anything except the lives of a few protons), but as rumored, CERN's flipping the switch on the four billion dollar Large Hadron Collider this Wednesday to test the superconducting magnets that control the proton beams. After a clockwise test, they'll send protons counter-clockwise, and after that -- smashy time. Of course, there are still paranoid lawsuits pending to shut all this down, and we wouldn't mind another rap video or two, but after two decades of work, it's probably time to boot this thing up, death threats or no. Let's make it a good last month of humanity, people.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

World to end Wednesday originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

CERN rap video about the Large Hadron Collider creates a black hole of awesomeness

Joshua Topolsky — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:29:00 EST

Been having a tough time figuring out just what CERN's Large Hadron Collider does? Worried that it will create a Möbius strip (a rip in the fabric of space where time becomes a loop)? Just love to jam? Watch this CERN-sponsored rap after the break, and have your universe totally destroyed. Er, but not for real.

[Via Protein Feed]

Continue reading CERN rap video about the Large Hadron Collider creates a black hole of awesomeness

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

CERN rap video about the Large Hadron Collider creates a black hole of awesomeness originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

CERN creates a new super-fast internet, invites tons of people to a deathmatch

Joshua Topolsky — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:29:00 EST

Apparently, when CERN isn't colliding particles (and ripping massive holes in the space-time continuum), it's busy working on a new "internet" which will be 10,000 times faster than our current version. The project -- known as "the grid" -- is built atop completely fiber optic networks, and utilizes modern routing centers. By keeping traffic out of our current phone and data systems, the researchers have been able to achieve speeds heretofore unseen on previous networks. The system connects from CERN to 11 centers around the globe, and will be switched on when the Large Hadron Collider is activated, on what the group is calling "Red Button Day." Project heads believe a network with this speed will lead to all sorts of futuristic innovations -- like true cloud computing, holographic video conferencing, and really, really fast pirating of the entire Nightmare on Elm Street series.

Filed under: Networking

CERN creates a new super-fast internet, invites tons of people to a deathmatch originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

US lawsuit calls Large Hadron Collider a Doomsday Machine, Higgs boson shrugs

Thomas Ricker — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:20:00 EST

If OJ made one thing perfectly clear, it's that the word "reason," at the root of "reasonable doubt" has lost all meaning in the US court system. So what do you think will be the outcome of a new lawsuit claiming that CERN's Large Hadron Collider is a Doomsday machine? The suit filed in Hawaii's US District Court by Luis Sancho and a former nuclear safety officer by the name of Walter Wagner, seeks to put the already delayed LHC launch on hold pending a new safety review. It's worth noting that the same doomsday scenarios of micro black holes and strangelets (think: the Midas Touch of death) have been raised by Wagner previously with the launch of other accelerators -- they've also been summarily dismissed by the scientific community as "beyond reasonable." It's also worth noting that the 27km-long LHC crisscrosses the border between France and Switzerland, not the US. An initial conference on the lawsuit is scheduled for June 16th, a few months before the first collisions are scheduled to begin and well before LHC is capable of its 4 trillion electron-volts maximum power. Peter Higgs, we feel your pain.

[Thanks Aaron, Original Image courtesy of Ute Kraus]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

US lawsuit calls Large Hadron Collider a Doomsday Machine, Higgs boson shrugs originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments