Cern freezes in run-up to experiment
The world’s largest science experiment at Cern has begun cooling its 27km ring of electromagnets to near absolute zero temperatures in anticipation of its planned summer start-up.
The Swiss particle physics laboratory hopes to complete the critical cool down by the end of the month.
Despite delays accumulating to around 10 months, the £8 billion project is due to soon start. It will smash together high-speed protons in the hope of shedding further light on the nature of matter and particle physics.
Cern said: “At the moment we don’t have a precise date for start-up but we hope to do it between July and August. So far with the cool down everything is going as expected.”
Meanwhile, two US scientists have filed a “doomsday” lawsuit in the US claiming that mini-black holes could be created when Cern is switched on – and potentially swallow up the planet. It is calling for the project to be put on hold until more questions about such a scenario are answered.
The claims have been dismissed by scientists and engineers at Cern.
© PE Publishing, 11 June 2008
