Following the news of a helium leak within a tunnel at the LHC, CERN has announced that a restart of the accelerator complex is likely to occur in early spring 2009.
Investigations at CERN following the large helium leak into sector 34 of the 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 between three to four weeks.
The time necessary for the investigation and repairs precludes a restart before CERN’s obligatory winter maintenance period, bringing the date for restart of the accelerator complex to early spring 2009. LHC beams will then follow.
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