Feature
The most complex machines ever built don't just hunt for obscure subatomic bits

LHC Spaghetti A Large Hadron Collider component called the CMS tracker outer barrel. It consists of 688 rods containing a total of 5208 silicon detector modules Maximilien Brice/Claudia Marcelloni/CERN

Beneath the French-Swiss border, the Large Hadron Collider will help scientists seek answers to some of the most profound questions about the universe. Beyond this lofty goal, though, particle accelerators can be used for decidedly more down-to-Earth projects -- like fighting cancer, cleaning up industrial waste and even shrink-wrapping your Thanksgiving turkey. More than 17,000 particle accelerators are in operation around the world, used for radial tires, computer chips and 3-D images of molecules, among other tasks.

The LHC, which was restarted this week, will run at half its maximum energy for the next year and a half, as scientists monitor electrical systems that have already forced delays. At 3.5 trillion electron volts, a half-power LHC will still be three times as powerful as the world's previous atom-smashing king, Fermilab's Tevatron.

As the LHC searches for the elusive Higgs boson, which is thought to endow all other particles in the universe with mass, we decided to takes a look at some other, perhaps more humble uses for particle accelerators, the "cathedrals of science." Launch the gallery below:

Additional reporting by Molly Webster

57 Comments

But wait! There is more to the article. You have to click the slide show => "View Photo Gallery" above to see the rest of the article.

3.5 trillion electron volts! 5.6 x 10^-7 Joules?

Stupendous!

@Mathieu.LeBlanc, careful, I got my head bit off awhile ago after observing that 3.5 trillion electron volts is actually a very very VERY teensy amount of energy - won't light a bulb.

If only it would produce 1.21 Gigawatts, I could walk away with a copy of Grey's Sports Almanac!!!

@ The Famous: I believe Doc Brown needed 1.21 JIGGAWATTS

Nope - www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeLorean_time_machine

Amazing, sure looks like a LOT of work to put one of those things together.

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Great for busting ghosts too.

I hear the instruments on particle accelerators are so incredibly sensitive that they can sense earthquakes on the other side of the globe.

After I "takes" a look at a gallery, I "likes" to post a comment.

From the color scheme of the cables, I believe the collider was made by Dell. And I know where my ethernet cable is.

mmmm... Now i wonder what would happen if i connect top left green wire with bottom right blue :)

Holly cr@p that does look complicated! But have we learned anything from these machines yet? I haven't heard anything on the news yet. There was a huge hype back few years when they lauched it, but haven't heard much since.
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Wow, I like it very much! Thanks for the post)))))))))))

I find that absolutely fascinating, thank you for posting the article, these accelerators are intriguing.
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I found some information on Esciencenews:
They don't just hunt for obscure subatomic bits Beneath the French-Swiss border, the Large Hadron Collider will help scientists seek answers to some of the most profound questions about the universe. Beyond this lofty goal, though, particle accelerators can be used for decidedly more down-to-Earth projects -- like fighting cancer, cleaning up industrial waste and even shrink-wrapping your Thanksgiving turkey. More than 17,000 particle accelerators are in operation around the world, used for radial tires, computer chips and 3-D images of molecules, among other tasks. The LHC, which was restarted this week, will run at half its maximum energy for the next year and a half, as scientists monitor electrical systems that have already forced delays. At 3.5 trillion electron volts, a half-power LHC will still be three times as powerful as the world's previous atom-smashing king, Fermilab's Tevatron. As the LHC searches for the elusive Higgs boson, which...

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This has had a lot of news coverage, but still waiting on the outcome.

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@catchersmitt0 I hope what your saying is in jest, because it certainly will. Whatsmore this can be used for more than just to generate the electrical volts. I saw a similar application on this www.techblogg.com sharing site that I was invited to join. They wen't into less detail but the result was about the same.

I found some information on Esciencenews:
They don't just hunt for obscure subatomic bits Beneath the French-Swiss border, the Large Hadron Collider will help scientists seek answers to some of the most profound questions about the universe. Beyond this lofty goal, though, particle accelerators can be used for decidedly more down-to-Earth projects -- like fighting cancer, cleaning up industrial waste and even shrink-wrapping your Thanksgiving turkey. More than 17,000 particle accelerators are in operation around the world, used for radial tires, computer chips and 3-D images of molecules, among other tasks. The LHC, which was restarted this week, will run at half its maximum energy for the next year and a half, as scientists monitor electrical systems that have already forced delays. At 3.5 trillion electron volts, a half-power LHC will still be three times as powerful as the world's previous atom-smashing king, Fermilab's Tevatron. As the LHC searches for the elusive Higgs boson, which...

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The Large Hadron Collider is a really interesting scientific project, but it has had so many problems, so many delays etc. I'd bet on http://www.sportsbookmastery.com that LHC will stop working multiple times in the next few months.

A. Heisenberg PHD

It is so fascinating with that 3.5 Trillion Watts and that could be as much as the power of LHC X as mentioned on http://www.predictions-soccer.com but I believe this will take many years before they put into official use.

Javier

eBrainer, that is an astonishing statistic. It's really amazing how humans have been able to invent something so complicated. (Looks stylish, too!)

I just wish I understood more behind the science. It would help to really appreciate what is being studied.

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P.S. This is what I wanted to study when I was in school. I ended up doing filmmaking instead!

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This has had a lot of news coverage, but still waiting on the outcome.
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I'm not even going to pretend like I understood half of this article, but I'd like to think I did. I definitely know more about particle accelerators than I did before I got here!

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That machine is really amazing. It is so complex it kind of blows my mind! I remember learning some of this in college but it's been awhile. Thanks... http://www.howcanigetapaydayloan.com/

Woo, it's a complicated to build this devices.
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But wait! There is more to the article. You have to click the slide show => "View Photo Gallery" above to see the rest of the article.
I'm not even going to pretend like I understood half of this article, but I'd like to think I did. I definitely know more about particle accelerators than I did before I got here!
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Pretty complex, if you ask me. http://www.kenya-travel-packages.com/nairobi-hotels.html

A particle accelerator is a device that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to high speeds and to contain them in well-defined beams. You can find full information of Particle Accelerators in wiki.

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A particle accelerator is a device that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to high speeds and to contain them in well-defined beams. You can find full information of Particle Accelerators in wiki.i am very thankful to you...

looks like a pretty Christmas circle :) I like it. That aside, quality post.. thanks.
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I learned beams of high-energy particles are useful for both fundamental and applied research in the sciences, and also in many technical and industrial fields unrelated to fundamental research. It has been estimated that there are approximately 26,000 accelerators worldwide.
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I agree. Love this article, I find particles amazing!

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"More than 17,000 particle accelerators" wow I'm really impressed with it who would not be impressed
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This particular information was what i sought for many months and reading it here i feel more at ease with the prospects of future developments. Lets just hope that more people will and enter and read it and find as interesting as i did.
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Interesting! I wonder what they'll find out or even hope to discover with this! I wonder how much they have to pay for electricity bills though.
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And Swiss chocolate. I can think of other things but, alas, a Large Hadron Collider can only give away so many secrets.

Wow!! Talk about obscurity! I'm already impressed by the fact that these particle accelerators can be used for decidedly more down-to-Earth projects -- like fighting cancer, cleaning up industrial waste and even shrink-wrapping your Thanksgiving turkey.

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I find these particle accelerators a bit scary really, but maybe I've just been watching too many sci-fi conspiracy shows of late..?

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