Saturday, September 20, 2008

Waiting For The Electrician

After all the excitement surrounding the start-up of the mighty super collider, the end result is nothing short of devastating.

For want of a nail, the battle was lost, according to the nursery rhyme. And for want of a proper electrical connection, the super collider ground to a halt.

The Large Hadron Collider attempted to duplicate the Big Bang for all of thirty-six hours before an electrical connection failed. Once that happened, the superconducting magnets associated with the connection melted down, and after that, the helium escaped and that was the end of that.

Scientists expect to be on a forced hiatus of several months as the equipment is warmed up enough to allow for a repair and then cooled back down for the experiment. The elusive Higgs boson is safe for now, hiding in its lair of subatomic particles, although it's just a matter of time before physicists are on the hunt once again.

When the electricians arrive to replace the connector, will they select a fine piece of equipment from Square D's parent company in Paris? After all, the collider is located on the border between France and Switzerland. Or will they go with good old American know-how, and call overseas for their electrical connector needs?

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