In just a few hours now, researchers near Geneva, Switzerland, will press some computer buttons and inject the first ions into the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Physicists around the world will participate in this historic event, with a number of “pajama parties” scheduled for Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. The first technical discussions for this project began as long ago as in 1981, so it has indeed been a long time coming and a time for technological rejoicing.
Many people are unaware now of the competition between the LHC and the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC), which was to be built in Texas, with actual approval and construction start in 1987. The project was canceled by the Federal Government in 1993 after its cost ballooned from its initial $4.4 billion to more than $12 billion. It took a little longer to bring to fruition, but the end result is “in the pudding.”
The LHC group and its parent CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) took a more conservative financing and technology approach and held to their budget of about $6 billion.
It’s also interesting in how positive all the media buzz has been about the LHC and the international cooperation that’s surrounded it (outside of the technology skeptics who believe that the LHC will create a black hole that will envelop the world).
You could almost compare the LHC to the recent Beijing Olympics in that before the events, there was some skepticism outside of the local communities about the actual events or capabilities. Some wondered how anything outside of the U.S. could be that good. However, once you physically saw that they were successful, well-run, well-organized and technologically competent, you embraced them with the respect that they were due and likely should have been due from the beginning.
