Historic, Gigantic Atom Smasher To Be Demolished

"how long will it take for us to decide that the Large Hadron Collider is an outdated piece of junk?" First, let's see the darn thing working, and then we'll take it from there.

Bassem B.

They should turn it into a museum, or something along the line. Like you said, it's historic, and it's one of the crown jewels of science. It shouldn't go the way of other scientific buildings. Gizmodo: Lets make a petition to save the Bevatron and turn it into a historic building. Something for future generations to visit.

GundamX67

Super collider? But I just met her!

@The Red Comet: Positively smashing, I say!

@MyPetFly: You smash a smasher with a smasher smasher of course.

But where will I smash my atoms?

djchaser

Speaking of large super colliers. I heard there are worm holes that exist on the nano scale. We could extract the worm holes but to do that we would truly need a SUPER collider. So big that it would need to be built in space. The collisions in that supercollider would force the wormholes out and we could maybe stabilize them or enlarge them.

Jitty

The anti neutron was discovered there as well. I'm sure if the LHC were to be decomissioned, it would be used as storage for a few years like the Bevatron was in it's last days.

Seather

Don't forget that they discovered the anti neutron there as well! It's not just an atom smasher, it's a linear accelerator too. There is one just up the hill though(ALS). http://www.als.lbl.gov/

GilmerCrane

@vmspionage: +1

@OMG! Ponies!: it's like the SR-71 Blackbird. newer stuff came out that's cheaper to operate and has more capability. And doesn't turn into a cranky old bastard who spits lubricant.

This thing looks like it belongs in an episode of Venture Brothers The Monarch: (finally inside Dr. Venture's laboratory) My god, look at this place. It's like a museum of failure. Dr. Girlfriend: It's almost depressing. The Monarch: Here I am, in the belly of the beast, and I don't even care. I don't even feel like taking a whiz on this. I used to DREAM of taking a whiz on this!

@kuriakos: I do many things in a slick European accent. Especially Milanese supermodels.

@OMG! Ponies!: It only works if you do it in a slick European accent. Preferably a Hans Gruber-esque German accent.

Atoms to atoms, dust to dust....

@OMG! Ponies!: You had your pinky in the corner of your mouth when you wrote that didn't you.

Jim Topoleski

@Jim Topoleski: Here is how you take care of maintenance costs for an atom smasher: "Hello. UN - give me a trillion dollars or I will unleash the might of my Atom Smasher on the people of London. You have 24 hours to comply."

Ward, I think you were a little hard on the Bev' last night...

Gearhead_42

@OMG! Ponies!: actually I can see a point where it would in fact outlive its usefulness. I am sure it costs a hell of a lot more at this point to maintain it, than it does to build a new one. That being said, it WOULD be cool to live in one. Kinda like living in a old missile silo (which I would kill to do if my budget warranted it.)

Jim Topoleski

Hope they recycle this sucker. I would pay a few extra bucks knowing the engine block in my new car was made from a FREAKING ATOM SMASHER!!!

@nutbastard: I wouldn've gone with snatch-handle myself.

Kaiser-Machead

Actually, it's not an atom smasher. It's only a particle accelerator used to create highly intense and precise beams of light. The particles only run in a single direction, unlike the LHC which runs particles in two directions to make them smash and collide. Just thought you should know. I got to tour the facility two weeks ago.

SitaElephino

@Lite: is on a boat.: Yes, Mojave and suction just go hand in hand...and penis.

@Lite: is on a boat.: Hooray!!! My comment is darker! ...Or the codename for adding "suck"-tion to all windows vista "capable" machines....

PeterNincompoop

@PeterNincompoop: No, that was just the codename for adding suction to the fleshlight.

@nutbastard: I thought the fleshlight's code name was "the Mojave Experiment"....right? By the way, seeing my poor little comment all grayed out down there make me sad

PeterNincompoop

The past tense of build is B U I L T.

HilaryNizbit

It will be outdated when it creates the very black hole that will suck the LHC to its own demise.

ku1185

@jibbly: How ignorant of me. (forehead slap)

i don't even know what a atom smasher is.. but damn, this thing surely look cool

bookmark

Anyone else think "Romulan Senate Building" when they first looked at the picture?

mikejonas

built*

devianaut

Instead of destroying it, we should save it. Save it, so that when we find another one, we could smash them together and find out what they're made of.

shadydentist

@dallasmay2: and we'll all become christians/jews/evangelicals/muslims/etc...

mocanlagunas

@MyPetFly: You smash a smasher with what you would smash a smasher with. Of course.

I just had a thought (finally). What do you smash a smasher with?

@Ski11z: Why are you speaking in the third person? *You humans*

Well, this news is smashing.

@rockntrumpet: Nice one.

dallasmay2

When do you suppose it'll be available on eBay?

as soon as they take down the one at Fermi Lab, it will be a sad sad day...

How long will it take to decide that the LHC is obsolete? Probably not even 50 years. Once we find that there is no Higgs, that will be the end of high energy particle physics as we know it.

dallasmay2

I'd like to buy it if they're willing to sell it and can have it packed at a UPS Store. I've got a few atoms I need to smash.

As the LHC is underneath a lot of populated land, covering two countries, I'd hate to be the demolition team asked to destroy it when the time comes.

FartyMcPooPants

We will build it back, brick by brick, just the way it was.

just the way it was? I was thinking the foundation under the east wing could use some improvement.

*devilish grin*

It's a frakkin' atom-smasher! Do you know why you never hear anyone complain about all those useless vacant atom-smashers that litter strip malls? Because atom-smashers are not useless. That's like saying "I think I'm going to clear out my collection of laser pistols. I just can't think of when I'd ever want to use an atomic ray gun and these blasters are just gathering dust." If they don't want the atom smasher, I'll take it. Hell, I'll live in it. Who DOESN"T want to say that they use an atom smasher for a house?!

Maybe the LHC people can take some lessons by examining the soldering on this heap before its demolished

wasn't Bevatron the code name for the fleshlight when it was still in the prototype phase?

... A Chinese knock off, "Giant Hadron Smasher"? Complete with pictures of Obama and the Hulk as celebrity endorsers. ......I have no idea why. (side note: this tiny comment bubble is tough to navigate on my phone. I would have imagined that editing it would produce a larger one, but perhaps I'm just missing something). .... I thought of another... The Max Headroom Collider....? Anyone?

madog

I thought Bevatron was the villain from some Bond movie...right?

PeterNincompoop

Oh happy day, we have an EDIT button, Giz, pure genius! Or bout time yo!

Progress.

Im not one to reminisce about old buildings that are no longer useful.

the real question is whether the cost of destruction will be equal to or greater than the cost of the original structure.

Now if they could sell off dismantled pieces as souvenirs for a hundred bucks or so each, I imagine they could easily make that initial money back, and put it towards soldering up some joints in the Big Guy.

KilianCrane

It will be converted to a Terminator factory.

Eauboy

Whatever's next will probably be big enough to create self-sustained black holes and the world will cease to exist.. or get sucked back through time according to Star Trek

dcow90

I believe Zephram Cochrane's Phoenix will replace the Hadron Collider

Sol-Corp

It will be called the WORLD HEDRON COLLIDER, and we smash our way into oblivion and become blackhole food!

It will leave an atom sized hole in my heart. *sniff*

rockntrumpet

For something to be useless, outdated junk, it has to be useful first. Im looking at you Large Hadron Collider.

BeerManMike

I thought the LHC was already a piece of junk...

Castleknight75

I hope they took lots of pictures. I understand that they cannot keep things like this sitting around. It is just sad to see a piece of history taken down.

reddingofish

It is a shame that Tesla's labs have fallen into disrepair while Edison's have become monuments to his greatness. Tesla is one of the most under appreciated scientists of all time. Not fully related to the post, but saddening, nonetheless.

CaptainHoratioMcCallister

still not sure what the Large Hadron Collider does, and i've wikied it, so maybe its just over my non smarter than a 5th grader logic.

Jonathan Butler

Hope they leave a peice of it intact for historic purposes.

haxor911

Isn't the LHC already outdated?

SkippyTheMarine