The most expensive experiment in the world is broken

Only 10 days after the beginning of the operation, the most expensive experiment in human history was broken. The new, multibillion-particle accelerator in Geneva, will have to be shut down for at least 2 months.
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For scientists at the CERN Nuclear Research Center near Geneva (Switzerland) it is a nightmare. An electrical connection between two magnets is broken, causing a chain reaction leading to severe damage: One of the many giant magnets that make up the accelerator's heart becomes too hot - or rather cold too little. The repair of this machine for more than 2 billion euros will last many months.

The magnets that conduct the flow of particles must have extremely cold temperatures: They must be cooled down to below -270 degrees with liquid helium to become superconducting. CERN spokesman, James Gilles, said that at least the broken section of the accelerator would be "reheated" so that experts could review and repair the damage. "But because this is a superconducting machine with periods of heating and cooling that take a long time, it means we have to shut down a few months."

While there are people under a 100-meter-deep tunnel, the particle accelerator is not allowed to operate - the cause is the enormous energy of the flow of particles moving in the tube. When the accelerator operates with the highest productivity, the particle carries the energy of a train locomotive running at 200 km / h. In order to arrest the particle flow, it must be directed in a different direction and radiated in the form of a fan with specialized magnets, and finally lead these particles into 8-meter-long graphite blocks in concrete to stop the stamping force. Its terrible destruction.

Physicists hope to get answers to basic questions about the formation and structure of the universe from a 27-kilometer long tunnel deep underground, on the border between Austria and France.