Published: Thursday, September 11, 2008
Switch flipped on atom smasher
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Associated Press
A 2007 photo shows the Large Hadron Collider while it was under construction near Geneva, Switzerland.
GENEVA -- A small blip on a computer screen sent champagne corks popping among physicists in Switzerland. Near Chicago, researchers at a "pajama party" who watched via satellite let out an early morning cheer.
The blip was literally of cosmic proportions, representing a new tool to probe the birth of the universe.
The world's largest atom smasher passed its first test Wednesday as scientists said their powerful tool is almost ready to reveal how the tiniest particles were first created after the "big bang," which many theorize was the massive explosion that formed the stars, planets and everything.
The accelerator is still probably a year away from full power.
Rivals and friends turned out in the wee hours at Fermilab in Batavia, Ill., in pajamas to watch the event by a special satellite connection. Joining in from around the world were other physicists who may one day work on the new Large Hadron Collider.
Anticipation mounted in the five control rooms at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, as scientists huddled around computer screens. After a few trial runs, they fired a beam of protons clockwise around the 17-mile tunnel of the collider deep under the Swiss-French border. Then they succeeded in sending another beam in the opposite, counterclockwise direction.
The physicists celebrated with champagne when the white dots flashed on the blue screens of the control room, showing a successful crossing of the finish line on the $10 billion machine under planning since 1984.
"The first technical challenge has been met," said a jubilant Robert Aymar, director-general of CERN. "What you have just seen is the result of 20 years of effort. It all went like clockwork. Now it's for the physicists to show us what they can do."
It is likely to be several weeks before the first significant collisions.
The CERN experiments could reveal more about "dark matter," antimatter and possibly hidden dimensions of space and time. It could also find evidence of a hypothetical particle -- the Higgs boson -- which is sometimes called the "God particle" because it is believed to give mass to all other particles, and thus to matter that makes up the universe.
The LHC provides much greater power than earlier colliders.
Its start came over the objections of some who feared the collision of protons could eventually imperil the Earth by creating micro black holes -- subatomic versions of collapsed stars whose gravity is so strong they can suck in planets and other stars.
"It's nonsense," said James Gillies, chief spokesman for CERN, which also received support for the project by leading scientists such as Britain's Stephen Hawking.
The project organized by the 20 European member nations of CERN has attracted researchers from 80 nations.
Rapping to the atom smasher
Kate McAlpine, a Michigan State University graduate at CERN, has produced a "Large Hadron Rap" video, which explains the Large Hadron Collider in a rap song. The video can be found on YouTube by searching for "Kate McAlpine."
The blip was literally of cosmic proportions, representing a new tool to probe the birth of the universe.
The world's largest atom smasher passed its first test Wednesday as scientists said their powerful tool is almost ready to reveal how the tiniest particles were first created after the "big bang," which many theorize was the massive explosion that formed the stars, planets and everything.
The accelerator is still probably a year away from full power.
Rivals and friends turned out in the wee hours at Fermilab in Batavia, Ill., in pajamas to watch the event by a special satellite connection. Joining in from around the world were other physicists who may one day work on the new Large Hadron Collider.
Anticipation mounted in the five control rooms at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, as scientists huddled around computer screens. After a few trial runs, they fired a beam of protons clockwise around the 17-mile tunnel of the collider deep under the Swiss-French border. Then they succeeded in sending another beam in the opposite, counterclockwise direction.
The physicists celebrated with champagne when the white dots flashed on the blue screens of the control room, showing a successful crossing of the finish line on the $10 billion machine under planning since 1984.
"The first technical challenge has been met," said a jubilant Robert Aymar, director-general of CERN. "What you have just seen is the result of 20 years of effort. It all went like clockwork. Now it's for the physicists to show us what they can do."
It is likely to be several weeks before the first significant collisions.
The CERN experiments could reveal more about "dark matter," antimatter and possibly hidden dimensions of space and time. It could also find evidence of a hypothetical particle -- the Higgs boson -- which is sometimes called the "God particle" because it is believed to give mass to all other particles, and thus to matter that makes up the universe.
The LHC provides much greater power than earlier colliders.
Its start came over the objections of some who feared the collision of protons could eventually imperil the Earth by creating micro black holes -- subatomic versions of collapsed stars whose gravity is so strong they can suck in planets and other stars.
"It's nonsense," said James Gillies, chief spokesman for CERN, which also received support for the project by leading scientists such as Britain's Stephen Hawking.
The project organized by the 20 European member nations of CERN has attracted researchers from 80 nations.
Rapping to the atom smasher
Kate McAlpine, a Michigan State University graduate at CERN, has produced a "Large Hadron Rap" video, which explains the Large Hadron Collider in a rap song. The video can be found on YouTube by searching for "Kate McAlpine."
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