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There energy crisis that is hitting Europe could curb experiments in progress at Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Geneva. CERN, according to Serge Claudet, chairman of the center’s energy management committee, is working out plans for turn off some of its particle accelerators at times of peak energy demand. An eventuality that could also concern the Large Hadron Collider, even if everything is done to avoid it.
“Our concern is there network stability, we do everything possible to prevent a blackout in our region“, Claudet told the Wall Street Journal. The approach of winter and the indefinite stop to gas supplies through the Nord Stream pipeline by Gazprom are the weapons that Russia is playing to induce Europe to a reverse on the sanctions taken following the invasion of Ukraine.
CERN, during peak periods, it consumes nearly 200 megawatts of energy, a value equal to one third of the neighboring city of Geneva. On the website of the European Organization for Nuclear Research it says that the center “uses 1.3 terawatt hours of electricity per yeara sufficient quantity for power 300,000 homes for one year in the UK“.
LHC, an accelerator that allowed to verify the existence of the Higgs boson, accelerates protons and other particles along a 27 km ring making them collide at a speed close to the speed of light. From the clash numerous particles are generated, whose properties are studied to understand various phenomena of our universe.
CERN’s goal is to keep the LHC running and avoid a sudden and complete stop. LHC is only one of eight accelerators located in the complex, flanked by two decelerators that allow scientists to study antimatter.
According to the WSJ, CERN in talks with its electricity supplier, the French state giant EDF SA, to receive one day’s notice of the need to consume less electricityClaudet said. CERN, in the first instance, would give priority to the closure of other accelerators besides the LHC, reducing the electricity consumption of the center by up to 25%.
CERN, the plan for the Future Circular Collider (FCC) has been launched: 100 kilometers and 21 billion euros
Turning off the LHC would save another 25%but it would involve a problem: the great hadronysis collider is based on superconducting magnets cooled to -456 F. to bend the particle beam, which requires a significant amount of energy even when the beam is off. Allowing the magnets to heat up could delay experiments for weeks.“voluntary action,” Claudet said. “You don’t want to break your toy.”
CERN officials are putting together a plan to pause the experiments they will present at the end of the month to representatives of the governments that fund the center. “If we are given a budget to do science and we voluntarily stop science to save energy, we need to make sure we have the support of the respective countries,” concluded Claudet.
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