h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

LHC re-start scheduled for 2009

Geneva, 23 September 2008. Investigations at CERN following a large helium leak into sector 3-4 of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) tunnel have indicated that the most likely cause of the incident was a faulty electrical connection between two of the accelerator's magnets. Before a full understanding of the incident can be established, however, the sector has to be brought to room temperature and the magnets involved opened up for inspection. This will take three to four weeks. Full details of this investigation will be made available once it is complete. it is complete.

Yawn.

http://public.web.cern.ch/public/

Jab

Is British Railways somehow involved in the running of the CERN project?

No, Paul, but the various badly-co-ordinated firms that run trains on our railways are well-known for breaking down all the time. Sorry for the culture-specific reference.

Jab

More precisely, their trains are always breaking down!

Oh dear. Too many 'it is complete's. It isn't complete, of course. My quote from Cern should finish with 'once it is complete'. Anyone know of a job on the railways I could do?

We still have to wait until 2009 - (at the earliest?)

Jab

Thank you for providing me with the first good laugh of the day.

..........If I can help B'Elana,
Then my living will not be in vain...

(Old popular song)

Thanks, B'Elana

yup, good one

i was once told that two different firms were w*rking on the same project of landing a module on

when the module disappeared into deep space without any trace whatsoever they launched a major investigation that lasted for quite some time

in the end they discovered that one firm had based all it's calculations on kilometres - the other used miles...

it's a good story (well, not for the company that spent billions of $ of course) but is it true

I think it's true Pierce, I heard about it some time ago, although I can't remember the details. I had thought it was somethimng to do with the Channel Tunnel, but I'm now sure that it wasn't.


Jab

we usually have to buy a round of when we up like this

i wonder how big the round was

pints or litres? I suppose

1. At first they couldn't tell

2. After a few they didn't care

Jab

I feel kind of sorry for the CERN people. They had to beg for big money from governments and nonprofits. They spent years building this humongous underground racetrack for infintesimally small particlkes, all in the service of the greater good, namely pushing forward humanity's knowledge of the properties of subatomic particles. What they discover (possibly not in my lifetime, though you never know) may well revolutionize science. maybe British Railways has revolutionized something somewhere, ay some time.

Paul, the eternal slightly cynical optimist.

ABSOLUTELY, Paul. You bet it is being done on a shoe string. You bet governments are forced by funding constraints to be interested in science for industry or for weaponry rather for its own sake. It's the same for many subjects, certainly as far as industry goes, at least I know all this to be true in England. Science for industry = procedures rather than basic principles and insights, = applied rather than pure science, and = science for yesterday (sales and industry today) rather than science for tomorrow.

No, I wasn't blaming the scientists and the engineers involved one bit. It comes down to lack of money for education and the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, which thinkers such as Arnold saw as the basis for a civilised society. Although, perhaps the military are keeping an eye on it for the future (spending on immediate 'practical science' would still come first on their list).

Another result of this attitude is the closing down of philosophy departments, and some arts subjects generally, across the country at a time when we have more universities than ever before in the UK. Although this - university - is now a degraded term.



Jab

I suspect the railways will carry on confused and breaking down until they're completely out of date and close down.

The companies and their rails and their trains are out of date already, compared to the French, the Japanese, (Oh, just get out a map and a pin), but they have been for years, so it'll take a few more centuries before they're so out of date they just close down. Meanwhile, on the overcrowded motorways...

Jab

pints or litres? hm, that's a tough one

i love the british tradition.

on the other hand i love more

let's go to munich and discuss it over a few 'mass'. i think you will be convinced after a few of those

Best offer I've had all week!

Jab

hehehe after a few more we will discuss who pays for the tickets

and the

http://space.newscientist.com/article/mg18524895.600

the measurement one
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4522291.stm

Thanks for the guides, Prof. By the way, how did you know about my red eyes?

Jab

red eyes ???