Student discovers flaw in Large Hadron Collider
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| Eric Yurkewicz discovered a flaw in the LHC |
"Eric Yurkewicz had just awakened from his nap when he found a miscalculation in a key algorithm for operating the world’s largest particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva Switzerland.
Yurkewicz, a student at l'Espace de vie enfantine (EVE) in Meyrin, Switzerland, said he had been going over the analysis of the calculations as his class put on their jackets for outdoor activity period.
“I was just about to head for the swing set when the realization hit me,” Yurkewicz said. “I can see how this mistake crept in. I might easily have tripped up there myself. I’m just glad I spotted it before they attempt to restart the accelerator.”
The LHC operated briefly last September before damage to several components forced a temporary shutdown. CERN physicists say they plan to re-start the LHC in September 2010.
Yurkewicz immediately shared his insight with CERN physicists, who said such “course corrections” are part of a normal scientific process that serves to improve the accelerator, a process that constantly perfects the performance of the LHC.
When the LHC begins operating again, it will be the highest-energy particle collider in the world. It is located in a circular 17-mile tunnel some 100 meters below the border of Switzerland and France. There are four large detectors spaced around the ring, in which protons collide at nearly the speed of light. "
All from http://www.fnal.gov/pub/today/april_fools_2009.html
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