First proton beam completes loop through Large Hadron Collider

MOSCOW. November 21. KAZINFORM. The first circulating beam of protons successfully made it through the entirety of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) on Friday, a source at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) told RIA Novosti by telephone; Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.

"The first beam has completed the entire circle. No problem has emerged," the source said, adding: "The beam was seen by all the detectors."

The source said CERN head Rolf Heuer has already arrived and congratulated everyone, adding that those who are not busy may take a break.

Experiments using the LHC were suspended last September shortly after a successful start, due to a malfunction of two superconducting magnets and a subsequent helium leak into the tunnel housing the device.

The collider, located 100 meters under the French-Swiss border with a circumference of 27 km, enables scientists to shoot subatomic particles round an accelerator ring at almost the speed of light, channeled by powerful fields produced by superconducting magnets; Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru for full version.