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The shutdown will be used to fix problems with the LHC and carry out routine maintenance<\/h4>\n
\nThe long length of the next major LHC shutdown is due to two main factors: the time necessary to fix problems with magnet connections that currently prevent the LHC from running at its full energy; and the time needed to prepare the LHC for routine maintenance and repair work and then restore the LHC to operational status.<\/p>\n
Particle accelerators are incredibly complex machines, and, like any complex machine, require regular maintenance to keep their parts running smoothly, repairs when parts wear out or break down, and occasional upgrades to increase the machine\u2019s performance. Maintenance, repairs and upgrades to the LHC cannot take place while the machine is running, for two reasons. One, the radiation generated in the immediate vicinity of the LHC while it is operating means that technicians cannot enter the LHC tunnel while the machine is running. Two, the LHC\u2019s magnets must be cooled to almost absolute zero to bend high-energy beams of particles, and it takes about one month to warm the accelerator up to room temperature before technicians can access the magnets\u2019 innards.<\/p>\n
In the past, CERN <\/strong>\u2013 like Fermilab near Chicago, which also operates a supercooled particle collider \u2013 ran its accelerators on a one-year schedule. The accelerator ran continuously for eight or nine months, followed by a four or five-month shutdown for maintenance, repairs, and upgrades. But the LHC is unique in that it contains 27 kilometers\u2019 worth of supercooled machinery. (CERN\u2019s previous 27-kilometer-long accelerator wasn\u2019t supercooled, and Fermilab\u2019s is less than 7 kilometers around.) As the LHC takes at least one month to warm up, and another month to cool down, CERN has decided to move to longer running times followed by longer shutdowns.<\/p>\n But the warm-up and cool-down times aren\u2019t the only reason that the LHC\u2019s next shutdown will be lengthy. The 2011-2012 shutdown will also be used to fix problems with the connections between superconducting magnets that prevent the LHC from running at the energies it was designed for. On September 19, 2008, a superconducting connection between two LHC magnets melted, resulting in a chain reaction that damaged more than 50 magnets. The damage took more than one year to fix, and spurred a critical review of the LHC\u2019s design. The result was the decision to run the LHC at half design energy \u2013 3.5 TeV per beam \u2013 long enough to give the LHC experiments enough data to remain competitive with Fermilab\u2019s Tevatron experiments in the hunt for the big physics discoveries. And then take all the time necessary to fix the LHC so that it can finally ramp up to its full energy of 7 TeV per beam in 2013.\n<\/p>\n \n[ad name=”Single Post Banner 468×60″]Some pictures of the Large Hadron Collider<\/h4>\n
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