Large Hadron Collider Begins First Set of Data Runs, Though at Half Energy. (March 31, 2010)

After the major breakdown, 14 months ago, that put the Large Hedron Collider (LHC) out of action repairs have progressed sufficiently that on Tuesday the collider ramped up its twin proton beams to 3.5 trillion electron volts each, which is half the collider's designed maximum energy, and allowed them to intersect for what is billed as the LHC's "First Physics Day". However, it will still be three years at least before CERN’s collider runs at or near full strength.

ScienceNow notes that even at the reduced energy level that will allow the physicists to: "calibrate their incredibly complex particle detectors, making sure they can identify familiar particles before they search for exotic new ones."