Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
LHC 'Malfunction' No Accident?
The Large Hadron Collider was unable to proceed with further testing this past week, owing to an electrical problem with a cooling system. A resulting helium leak caused a shutdown; since the enormous machine takes 3-4 weeks to warm up, the soonest the LHC could come back online is November.
(Very pretty picture of the Large Hadron Collider)
Now, however, CERN announced that the warm-up period and ensuing investigations will bump up against the LHC's "obligatory winter maintenance period." So, it will be early spring of 2009 before the LHC can go back online.
An unfortunate time for what everyone sees as a random malfunction.
Or was it?
In his 1997 novel Einstein's Bridge, sf author John Cramer writes about efforts of physicists to bring the Superconducting Super Collider online. However, as it turns out, the SSC becomes the source of powerful radiations of a type that attract the attentions of powerful and malefic intelligences elsewhere in the galaxy.
Hoping to avoid catastrophe, two physicists go back in time to try to sabotage the collider and keep it from ever going online.
Plucky CERN Director Robert Aymar is undismayed by these problems, regardless of whether they are due to mundane engineering flaws or time-traveling tinkerers.
“Coming immediately after the very successful start of LHC operation on 10 September, this is undoubtedly a psychological blow. Nevertheless, the success of the LHC’s first operation with beam is testimony to years of painstaking preparation and the skill of the teams involved in building and running CERN’s accelerator complex. I have no doubt that we will overcome this setback with the same degree of rigor and application.”
Take that, future boy.
See stories like Large Hadron Collider Down Until 2009 for more; thanks to Winchell Chung for the tip on this story angle, which he remarks is a "little more speculative" than some of the other stories on this site.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 9/25/2008)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Engineering ")
REALLY Remote Control Excavators
'It takes over a second for the signal to get to the Moon...' - Pournelle and Niven, 1981
Your Solar Electric Paint Is Ready, Larry Niven
'...you spray it on.' - Larry Niven, 1995
How Long Till We Have These Tattoos?
Truth or fiction?
Taza Aya Air-Curtain Tech Protects Turkey Workers
'I'm going to have to buy a filter-mask.' - John Brunner, 1972.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
California Fireman Arrested For Starting Fires
'Fire is bright and fire is clean.'
Robots Need A Better Sense Of Touch
'First, it rubbed my arms...'
MouthPad Supports Head And Tongue Tracking
'The operation that had transformed half his body... had located the control switchboard in his teeth.'
REALLY Remote Control Excavators
'It takes over a second for the signal to get to the Moon...'
Disney Helping Robots Dance
Dance, Robots, Dance.
Kolors Virtual-Try-On Predicted, And TRIED, By Harry Harrison
'Bill blinked at his own face under the plumed helmet...'
Detecting Drones In Ukraine With Candy (Sukork)
'...a robot detector circuit closed, activating a bell."
Nevada Will Use AI To Decide Worker Benefits
'They had screwed up and been blacklisted by Manna.'
Tether Cryptocurrency Flow Rate US$190Bn Per Day
'Alex did not find it surprising that people... were electronically minting their own cash.'
First Trips To Mars Announced By Elon Musk
'I had determined that my first attempt should be a visit to Mars.'
WaPOCHI Micro-Mobility Robot Follows Like A Pet With Your Bags
To follow the user like a pet while carrying their cargo!
Ultra-Realistic Robotic Arowana Robo-Fish
'Deveet unhooked his catch and laid it on the bank beside him. It was a metal fish.'
GITAI R1 Lunar Rover Like NASA Robonaut Centaur
'...waldoes in the screen followed in exact, simultaneous parallelism.'
Meshworm Soft Robot, With Peristaltic Crawling, Is Getting Better
'Seen close it was not completely flexible, but made instead of pivoted and smoothly finished segments.'
Mushroom 'Robot' Is Just A Start
'Some unknown race ... decided to help them out.'
Tesla Electric 'Giga Train' Operational In Germany
'...the cars are wedge-shaped at both ends.'
