A view of Atlas. Higgs Boson, extra dimensions, dark matter, look here. Photo by Ellen Wallace
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at Cern (European Centre for Nuclear Research) will be switched on this weekend 21-22 November after its year-long repairs. The LHC, the world’s most expensive machine, smashes atoms into each other at very high energies in order to recreate the conditions at the very beginning of the universe. The LHC will start up very slowly at first, probably at no more than 45o GeV, says James Gillies, head of communications. Energy levels will slowly be increased to about 3.5 TeV by mid-January.
GenevaLunch asked Gillies why the LHC, designed to run at 7 TeV, was going to go at only half-steam. He explained that the LHC’s breakdown in September 2008 required a series of careful checks on the machine before it could ramp up to full power.
Social network giant Facebook says it will buy FriendFeed, an aggregator startup, for an undisclosed sum, the company announced 10 August. FriendFeed was started in late 2007 and allows users to compile and consolidate information across a broad range of media. Users can assemble updates from blogs, RSS feeds, Twitter alerts and Facebook updates in one place. Facebook says FriendFeed’s four founders, all alumni of Google, will continue to occupy key positions at the merged company. Industry observers note that this appears to be Facebook’s answer to Twitter’s rebuff when the social network tried to buy Twitter for a reported $500 million, according to Reuters. Facebook, Reuters
Cern press office James Gillies shows journalists, October 2008, mechanical damage to the LHC
Cern control centre, LHC, shortly after the accident, October 2008
