University World News
09 February 2010 

Global Edition
Home
Special Report
News
Business
Features
Academic Freedom
Science Scene
HE Research and Commentary
People
Uni-Lateral
U-Say
World Round-up
Special Global Edition
Home
UNESCO Forum – Changing Dynamics
Africa Edition
Home
Africa
News
Features
HE Research and Commentary
Business
People
Uni-Lateral
World Round-up
Special Africa Edition
Home
Differentiation - Issue 0001
Race & SA Universities - Issue 0002

Eduniversal

Employment



Archives

Find an Article
Advanced Search

View Archives by Country

View Archived Editions:
* Global Edition
* Africa Edition
* Special Africa Edition

Higher

Useful

Information
Free Registration
About Us
Contact Us
Advertising
Terms and Conditions
Jean-Marc Rapp, President of the European University Association. He has promised an annual review of university rankings. See our News section.
Jean-Marc Rapp, President of the European University Association. He has promised an annual review of university rankings. See our News section.

Ariel University Center of Samaria in the hills of the West Bank. It is still not accredited as a university. See the story in our News section.
Ariel University Center of Samaria in the hills of the West Bank. It is still not accredited as a university. See the story in our News section.

The Université Paris-Dauphine, where 1600% fees increases for some courses have angered lecturers and students. See our news story. photo Alain Mengus
The Université Paris-Dauphine, where 1600% fees increases for some courses have angered lecturers and students. See our news story. photo Alain Mengus


CHET


FORD





  


EUROPE: Large Hadron Collider back in business
29 November 2009
Issue: 103



The world's largest science experiment, the Large Hadron Collider began activity again this month after more than a year of repairs. Last week, scientists circulated two beams of particles simultaneously around the collider for the first time, testing the equipment's ability to synchronise the beams and look for proton-to-proton collisions.

The collider is a particle accelerator including a 27, kilometre loop of tunnel 100 metres under the border between Switzerland and France at Geneva. Atomic particles are collided at high speeds in the tunnel and scientists will measure the results.

The equipment has been under repairs since a malfunction in September last year and its restart was delayed earlier this month after a power failure. Though media reports blamed the latter problem on bread dropped by a bird, the official line is that feathers and breadcrumbs were found at the site but there was no evidence they had caused the power failure.

Director General of CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, Rolf Heuer, said last week's test was a great achievement. "But we need to keep a sense of perspective - there's still much to do before we can start the LHC physics programme."

Scientists involved with the project said they welcomed the first particle collisions with cheers and the resulting information was beautiful. "We're all ready for serious data taking in a few days time," said a spokesperson, Andrei Golutvin.

The collider was brought to its operating temperature of -271 Celsius in early October and particles were injected later that month. This month, the equipment was tested by circulating beams around the ring alternately in one direction and then the other and gradually increasing the lifetime of the beams to 10 hours.

The next step is described as an "intense commissioning phase" in which the intensity and speed of the beams will be increased. It is expected that by Christmas, the LHC will have provided good quantities of collision data for the experiments' calibrations.

Despite the delays that have dogged the project's first year, CERN's director for accelerators Steve Myers, said the researchers involved had learned a lot. "The LHC is a far better understood machine than it was a year ago," he said. "We've learned from our experience, and engineered the technology that allows us to move on. That's how progress is made."

Printable version
Email to a friend
Comment on this article




  

Related Links
About University World
Other articles from European Union
More Science Scene
Newsletter Archives

Most Popular Articles
SOUTH AFRICA: Student drop-out rates alarming

CHINA: Chinese students to dominate world market

SOUTH AFRICA: Universities set priorities for research

FRANCE: Smallest university created

UK: Few surprises in new THES rankings

OECD: Worldwide ‘obsession’ with league tables

UK: Two centuries of honours degrees to disappear

OECD 1: US share of foreign students drops

AUSTRALIA: Research quality scheme scrapped

US: Keeping stem cell research alive
Copyright University World News 2007-2009