First Beam

The first beam was circulated through the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) this morning. CERN successfully fired the protons around the tunnel in stages, several kilometres at a time. The particles were fired in a clockwise direction into the accelerator and successfully steered around it at 10:28 am local time. The LHC successfully completed its first major test, for after a series of trial runs, two white dots flashed on a computer screen showing the protons traveled the full length of the Collider. CERN plans to send it counterclockwise, and eventually the two beams will be fired in opposite directions with the aim of smashing together protons to see how they are made. It took less than one hour to guide the stream of particles around its inaugural circuit.

You can find out more at the LHC Website.

My favorite bit of pop culture (if you can call it that) was when the LHC destroyed the earth in the Sci-Fi series, Lexx, a show that had so much potential...but threw it all away in the third season.

Photo Courtesy Google, who is celebrating First Beam along with the rest of us science nerds, and the BBC.