There simply hasn’t been a cooler or more important piece of scientific machinery than the invention of the Large Hadron Collider. However, it appears that the big, bad piece of particle physics machinery can’t stand up to a weasel.
While smashing atoms and finding new particles all over the place seems to be no big deal since it became fully operational in 2010, it is amazing that a 17-mile long piece of machinery hasn’t seen natural issues in the past.
That changed recently, as a weasel wondered around the Large Hadron Collider a little too curiously.
Given the machine is set up to split atoms, a Weasel getting in the way of important scientific progress didn’t stand a chance. Instead, the animal attempted to chew threw a power cable connected to a 66,000-volt transformer.
Not only was the animal in serious trouble, it was enough to cause an electronics malfunction to the collider.
The critter’s curiosity not only cost him his life, it could cost the Large Hadron Collider as much as a few weeks before it becomes fully operational again according to scientists and engineers working on the machine.
Interestingly enough, it wasn’t the first time an animal cause a major issue for the Large Hadron Collider. Back in 2009, a bird dropped a baguette on the machine and it cause it to reach unsafe temperature levels.
Given the explosive nature of the machine itself, these types of issues could have catastrophic consequences if not dealt with properly.
Once back up to full capacity, UPROXX is reporting that scientists intend to crank things up a notch in the search for so-called “dark matter” and gravitons. All of it in a search to understand and unlock the mystery that is gravity.
[UPROXX/Photo: Maxi Sciences]