LHC: enormous magnet segment lowered down a shaft

The last of 1746 superconducting magnets is lowered into the LHC tunnel via a specially constructed pit at 12:00 on 26 April. This 15-m long dipole magnet is one of 1232 dipoles positioned around the 27-km circumference of the collider. Dipole magnets produce a magnetic field that bends the particle beams around the circular accelerator. Photo / CERN


A front-row seat at this summer's physics extravaganza

Jul 02, 2008 | User rating: 4.5 / 5 after 30 vote(s)
Nearly 20 years in the making, the largest particle accelerator in the world will start running in Switzerland this summer, offering scientists a glimpse of particles that have never been seen before.