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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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(Newser) – The Large Hadron Collider, the $5-billion, 17-mile experiment seeking answers to the universe’s deepest mysteries, hit a snag within hours of its Sept. 10 launch, but its overseer did not report the malfunction for a week, the Daily Telegraph reports. A 30-ton transformer in the cooling system broke, causing tests to cease just a day after it fired its first proton beam.

The European Organization for Nuclear Research, the body overseeing the LHC, has replaced the transformer and cooled the tunnel beneath the Swiss-French border back to nearly absolute zero in preparation for the first particle collisions, expected in October. Tests will resume shortly as scientists hope to gain an increased understanding of how the universe formed in the moments after the Big Bang.

A 30-ton transformer tasked with cooling parts of the 17-mile Large Hadron Collider broke on Sept. 11, just a day after scientists turned it on%u2014though the glitch went unreported for a week.
A 30-ton transformer tasked with cooling parts of the 17-mile Large Hadron Collider broke on Sept. 11, just a day after scientists turned it on%u2014though the glitch went unreported for a week.   (AP Photo)
This May 31, 2007 file photo, shows a view of the LHC (large hadron collider) in its tunnel at CERN (European particle physics laboratory) near Geneva, Switzerland.
This May 31, 2007 file photo, shows a view of the LHC (large hadron collider) in its tunnel at CERN (European particle physics laboratory) near Geneva, Switzerland.   (AP Photo/Keystone, Martial Trezzini, File)
Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider hope to uncover evidence that will lead to an increased understanding of how the universe developed after the Big Bang.
Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider hope to uncover evidence that will lead to an increased understanding of how the universe developed after the Big Bang.   (AP Photo)
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This is arguably the largest machine built by humankind, it is incredibly complex, and involved components of varying ages and origins, so I’m not at all surprised to hear of some glitches. - Steve Giddings, physics professor
at UC-Santa Barbara

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