Officials: Damage to collider forces 2-month halt

[September 20, 2008]  GENEVA (AP) -- The European Organization for Nuclear Research says its new particle collider has been damaged worse than previously thought and will be out of commission for at least two months.

On Thursday, the organization said the collider -- the world's largest -- malfunctioned within hours of its launch to great fanfare, but its operator didn't report the problem for a week.

Spokesman James Gillies says experts have gone into the Large Hadron Collider to examine the damage.

Gillies said Saturday the part that was damaged will have to be warmed up well above absolute zero so that repairs can be made. He said that will require having to shut off the new particle collider do to the repairs.

[Associated Press]

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