Big Bang machine back online
GENEVA (AP) - Scientists circulated beams of protons in the world's largest atom smasher Friday night for the first time after a year of repairs caused by a spectacular failure after the $10 billion machine was heavily damaged by a simple electrical fault.
Progress on restarting the machine went faster than expected Friday evening and the first beam started circulating in a clockwise direction around the machine about 10 p.m., said James Gillies, spokesman for the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
"Some of the scientists had gone home and had to be called back in," Gillies told The Associated Press.
The exact time of the start of the Large Hadron Collider was difficult to predict because it was based on how long it took to perform steps along the way, and in the end it happened about nine hours earlier than expected, Gillies said.
"This is an important milestone on the road towards" scientific experiments physics at the LHC, which are expected in 2010, he said.
The scientists have started to prepare to circulate another beam in the opposite, counterclockwise direction within the coming hours, Gillies said.
Progress on restarting the machine went faster than expected Friday evening and the first beam started circulating in a clockwise direction around the machine about 10 p.m., said James Gillies, spokesman for the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
"Some of the scientists had gone home and had to be called back in," Gillies told The Associated Press.
The exact time of the start of the Large Hadron Collider was difficult to predict because it was based on how long it took to perform steps along the way, and in the end it happened about nine hours earlier than expected, Gillies said.
"This is an important milestone on the road towards" scientific experiments physics at the LHC, which are expected in 2010, he said.
The scientists have started to prepare to circulate another beam in the opposite, counterclockwise direction within the coming hours, Gillies said.
