Pop goes the weasel: Hadron Collider particle accelerator shuts down after furry intruder causes short circuit
Experiments are aimed at unlocking clues about how the universe came into existence by studying fundamental particles and the forces that control them.
The world’s most powerful particle smasher, the Large Hadron Collider, went offline after a weasel caused a short circuit on a high-voltage transformer.
The collider suffered a “severe electrical perturbation” at 5.30am on Friday, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (Cern) said in its daily summary of at the giant lab straddling the French-Swiss border.
It said the cause was a “short circuit caused by fouine [weasel]” on a 66-kilovolt transformer, adding that its connections sustained some damage.
Cern spokesman Arnaud Marsollier told the BBC it would take a few days to repair the damage caused by the weasel, which did not survive its high-voltage encounter.
“Not the best week for LHC!” Cern said in its summary.
Experiments at the collider are aimed at unlocking clues about how the universe came into existence by studying fundamental particles, the building blocks of all matter, and the forces that control them.