Collision course
Chiefs at Cern in Geneva have now confirmed that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) – switched on last autumn and hailed as the scientific breakthrough of the year – will run at only half of its intended energy when it resumes in November. The LHC came to a catastrophic halt nine days after the switch-on, and even after repairs will stay at half its planned energy during 2010. The magnificent instrument – hailed as the fastest thing on earth, the hottest property in the solar system and the coolest machine in the galaxy – will indeed accelerate hydrogen nuclei to velocities that approach the speed of light in a vacuum, but until the people with spanners and screwdrivers are sure that they have fixed everything, half energy is the best anyone can hope for. Particles will accelerate in two directions...
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