Tag Archives: LHC

Marten shuts down world’s most powerful particle collider

The Large Hadron Collider uses superconducting magnets to smash sub-atomic particles together at enormous energies - CERN
The Large Hadron Collider uses superconducting magnets to smash sub-atomic particles together at enormous energies – CERN

This doesn’t relate directly to the North Fork, but it does contain a neat lesson about living with wildlife. Besides, the story was just too good to pass up . . .

A small mammal has sabotaged the world’s most powerful scientific instrument.

The Large Hadron Collider, a 17-mile superconducting machine designed to smash protons together at close to the speed of light, went offline overnight. Engineers investigating the mishap found the charred remains of a furry creature near a gnawed-through power cable.

“We had electrical problems, and we are pretty sure this was caused by a small animal,” says Arnaud Marsollier, head of press for CERN, the organization that runs the $7 billion particle collider in Switzerland. Although they had not conducted a thorough analysis of the remains, Marsollier says they believe the creature was “a weasel, probably.” (Update: An official briefing document from CERN indicates the creature may have been a marten.)

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