Apparently, there’s been a malfunction with the Large Hadron Collider that will prevent scientists from using it to recreate the Big Bang for at least several months:
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva, designed to re-create conditions cosmologists agree existed at the beginning of the universe, was switched on two weeks ago.
It fires beams of particles around a 16.8-mile tunnel at near light speed with the aim of smashing them in to each other to mimic the effects of the Big Bang.
The machine created a sensation around the world not just because of its record cost and scale but because of claims it might cause a black hole to form that would swallow the planet.
Those in charge of the project at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (Cern) dismissed the concerns.
Now, though, they have revealed that a large amount of helium leaked into the tunnel on Friday, forcing the particle accelerator to be shut down.
Cern said an initial investigation suggested a faulty electrical connection between two of the accelerator’s magnets could be to blame.
The collider requires temperatures just above absolute zero (-273.15C) to allow particles to be steered around the circuit.
But as a result of the fault, the temperature of the magnets rose by about 100C.
The affected area of the tunnel must be brought up to room temperature to allow engineers to inspect the magnets, and this process will take three or four weeks.
Now, if I was one of those people who believed in the theories that the LHC could potentially create a chain reaction that could destroy existence itself, I’d wonder if perhaps this wasn’t the result of some inter-dimensional sabotage.
But, of course, that can’t be true.
Right ?
Inter-dimensional? Nah, those 6 or 7 other dimensions won’t be accessible for quite some time. Divine Providence maybe though?