A wee problem has emerged in the LHC super-collider, so the operations that were to commence this fall are now likely to not be resumed until spring. Apparently some of the magnets -- which one imagines are bigger than a three-car garage (but I'm just guessing) -- overheated. That caused a "ton of helium" -- how heavy is helium?!? How much helium is a ton?!? -- to leak into the corridor. Which is a problem.
So the big picture, in layman's layman's terms: the big thing that was the big deal was going to have to go dormant for winter anyway -- in part because the energy required is too great during the peak Swiss heating season. But they were originally going to do more test-drives before winter arrived. Now while they go in for repairs, they won't even get to do anymore fun test-drives.
One of the LHC's eight sectors will now have to be warmed up to well above its operating temperature of 1.9 kelvin (-271C; -456F) – which is colder than deep space – so that repairs can take place.
I'd not previously thought about how one of the issues with running something as close to absolute zero as you can get: whenever you send workers in to fix it, you've got to heat it up first.
The episode provides a lesson in PR, too. Quoth the Don't Worry spokesman:
"If you keep an eye on the big picture, we've been building the machine for 20 years. The switch-on was always going to be a long process," James Gillies, Cern's director of communications, told BBC News.
Well, right, there's that way to see it. But if you keep your other eye on the big picture, you realize they've had 20 years to plan a proper start! So if the switch-on was always likely to include birthing pains, and if you're worried* about people not realizing that when the first hiccups come, you should make that expectation clear to people when you publicize all the kick-off parties.
*I'm not certain that's the case. Since this isn't (yet) a major malfunction/postponement, any publicity and appreciation for the complexity of the project is probably healthy publicity. I'm also not qualified to say. This is just a blog. Everybody's already paid (or committed to payment) for the LCH, so all PR is in the name of keeping the spigot for science turned on, I suppose. The real feeling of good investment vs. waste will come when they tell us if they found cool stuff or not, which is later. I'm done now. Letting it go. Walking away.
As you may have noticed, the site has changed. Sampa, the free-site host, did a version 2 of some sort.
Despite an FAQ that made it sound like allowing one's site to go through v.2 surgery would be okay, there were several flexibilities that surprisingly disappeared with the click of a button. (e.g. I cannot believe sidebars like this one are even narrower than before.)
And I'm told -- miraculously! -- that the conversion cannot be undone. Truth be told, I'm actually quite pissed. But free is free. Sampa has otherwise been good to me.
So I need to sort through site "features" to see how I can make do. Except that I don't have the time at the moment, in the middle of graduate classes and Lighthousehockey.com. (btw, I've removed that Lighthouse RSS feed so that you're not clogged with random Islanders hockey gibberish).
But I promise to touch up the accessories when I get a chance, and return to irregularly scheduled blogging.
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-- which one imagines are bigger than a three-car garage (but I'm just guessing) -- overheated. That caused a "ton of helium" -- how heavy is helium?!? How much helium is 
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February, 2008