LHC Shuts Down For Two Months Due To Helium Leak

Just a week ago, the transformer failed and now a new hardware, due to its LHC Shuts Down For Two Months Due To Helium Leak malfunction, has stopped the LHC, dead in its tracks. This time a magnet quench event has occurred due to failure of the electrical link between two of the particle accelerator's massive 30-ton superconducting magnets. The complex rectifying process will take approximately two months. The section of the tunnel will have to be warmed up, which contains the magnet. Then it will have to be cooled down to its -271°C operating temperature.  
 
Since the time the large Hadron Collider has been started on 10th September, it has been encountering numerous technical problems. Earlier on Thursday, the cooling plant was shut down due to the failure of the transformer. Then on Friday, approximately a ton of liquid helium leaked into one of the tunnel sections, when one of the bus bar connections which linked cables between the magnets failed, and melted during the test phase.  

James Gillies, director of communications at CERN, reported, “It seems to be a badly made connection – but this all has to be confirmed once we have had the chance to take a look at it.” 
 
The protons are steered around the Large Hadron Collider's circular tract with the help of large dipole superconductive magnets.  
 
Gillies reported, “Non-superconductive magnets simply would not be strong enough to handle the proton beams, which would steer off-track, hitting the collider pipe walls. These particles, at such energy levels, can melt through several feet of steel in nanoseconds, so you don't want those out of control.” 

The repairs would have only taken a few days, had the superconducting magnets were not put in use. Now it will take at least two months to bring it back to its working condition, thus postponing the tests that can actually lead to a lot of trouble to LHC as it closes down in wintes to save the energy costs. If in case the problem is not fixed soon, there would no collision till 2009.  
 
Gillies however said, “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. A year or two down the line, this moment will be a distant memory, and we'll be running smoothly.” 

Dr. Gillies also informed about the LHC's Gala Inauguration party that will take place on 21st October.  

 
 

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