LHC switches off for two-year break

[dipsydoodle]

The Large Hadron Collider has turned off its particle beams ahead of a shut-down period that will last two years.

The particle accelerator is best known for identifying a particle believed to be the Higgs boson in late 2012.

But following technical faults shortly after it first switched on, the machine has never been run at the full energies for which it was designed.

A programme of repairs and upgrades to the accelerator and its infrastructure should allow that in late 2014.

The LHC's beams were "dumped" early on Thursday morning, but it will take until Saturday morning for the machine's 1,734 magnets to warm up to room temperature.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21421460

[Warpy]

1. That thing is like an old boyfriend's Jaguar

It spent more time in the shop than it did on the road.