CERN levels up with new superconducting karts

Update: did you enjoy our April Fool’s day story? While we won’t be racing karts through the tunnel, we are gearing up for major works to prepare for HiLumi LHC and its new technologies. The image is based on a real 1991 CERN image of the monorail used to transport people and equipment in the tunnel during the lifetime of the Large Electron-Positron Collider (LEP), which preceded the LHC. Following on from the robotic mice, CERN engineers have now developed a super-charged kart to enable workers to race through the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) underground tunnel during the upcoming major works, starting this summer. The karts promise a power boost to activities during this period, known as Long Shutdown 3 (LS3), which will see the LHC transformed into the High-Luminosity LHC. These vehicles will replace the bicycles that were used until now to travel through the 27-km underground tunnel, enabling engineers and technicians to speed to areas where improvements to the accelerator are required. “Each kart is turbo-boosted by 64 superconducting engines,” explains project leader Mario Idraulico. “When the engines are cooled to below their critical temperatures, the Meissner effect levitates the karts, allowing them to zip through the tunnels at high speeds and, mamma mia, they’re super!” Early tests have been promising, and the next steps involve testing different kart designs in an underground race. Safety coordinator Luigi Fratello has ensured that each driver will be issued with Safety and Health Equipment for Long and Limited Stays (SHELLS), although his response to drivers wanting bananas in the tunnel was “Oh no!” These karts, although developed to support CERN’s fundamental research programme, show clear applications for society. CERN’s Knowledge Transfer Group has begun discussions with European startup company Quantum Mushroom to explore aerospace applications and powering for next-generation anti-gravity vehicles. Surprisingly, the kart project began from a collaboration between CERN engineers and onsite nursery school children – one example of CERN’s commitment to inspiring future generations. “We’re thrilled that the children’s kart designs were the inspiration for the engineered karts,” exclaimed schoolteacher Yoshi Kyouryuu, mid-way through painting spots on eggs for an Easter egg hunt. “As educators, we promote curiosity from a young age, which is why we paint question marks all over our yellow school walls,” explained school director, Rosalina Pfirsich, looking up from her storybook. “With all the contributions the children have made to the upcoming High-Luminosity LHC project, we’ve taken to calling them Luma!” Find out more about the High-Luminosity LHC project.

CERN levels up with new superconducting karts

Update: did you enjoy our April Fool’s day story? While we won’t be racing karts through the tunnel, we are gearing up for major works to prepare for HiLumi LHC and its new technologies. The image is based on a real 1991 CERN image of the monorail used to transport people and equipment in the tunnel during the lifetime of the Large Electron-Positron Collider (LEP), which preceded the LHC. Following on from the robotic mice, CERN engineers have now developed a super-charged kart to enable workers to race through the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) underground tunnel during the upcoming major works, starting this summer. The karts promise a power boost to activities during this period, known as Long Shutdown 3 (LS3), which will see the LHC transformed into the High-Luminosity LHC. These vehicles will replace the bicycles that were used until now to travel through the 27-km underground tunnel, enabling engineers and technicians to speed to areas where improvements to the accelerator are required. “Each kart is turbo-boosted by 64 superconducting engines,” explains project leader Mario Idraulico. “When the engines are cooled to below their critical temperatures, the Meissner effect levitates the karts, allowing them to zip through the tunnels at high speeds and, mamma mia, they’re super!” Early tests have been promising, and the next steps involve testing different kart designs in an underground race. Safety coordinator Luigi Fratello has ensured that each driver will be issued with Safety and Health Equipment for Long and Limited Stays (SHELLS), although his response to drivers wanting bananas in the tunnel was “Oh no!” These karts, although developed to support CERN’s fundamental research programme, show clear applications for society. CERN’s Knowledge Transfer Group has begun discussions with European startup company Quantum Mushroom to explore aerospace applications and powering for next-generation anti-gravity vehicles. Surprisingly, the kart project began from a collaboration between CERN engineers and onsite nursery school children – one example of CERN’s commitment to inspiring future generations. “We’re thrilled that the children’s kart designs were the inspiration for the engineered karts,” exclaimed schoolteacher Yoshi Kyouryuu, mid-way through painting spots on eggs for an Easter egg hunt. “As educators, we promote curiosity from a young age, which is why we paint question marks all over our yellow school walls,” explained school director, Rosalina Pfirsich, looking up from her storybook. “With all the contributions the children have made to the upcoming High-Luminosity LHC project, we’ve taken to calling them Luma!” Find out more about the High-Luminosity LHC project.

File:Heavy Lifting — the Book of CFS just arrived (55101635086).jpg - Wikimedia Commons

We’re scaling quantum computing even faster with Atlantic Quantum.

Google Quantum AI was founded in 2012 and our mission today remains the same — build quantum computing for otherwise unsolvable problems. We’re making steady progress on our roadmap, including with our latest Willow chip.Today, we’re excited to announce that the Atlantic Quantum team is joining Google. Atlantic Quantum is an MIT-founded startup that develops highly integrated quantum computing hardware. Its modular chip stack, which combines qubits and superconducting control electronics within the cold stage, will help Google Quantum AI more effectively scale our superconducting qubit hardware, and accelerate progress on our roadmap to a large error-corrected quantum computer and real-world applications.We’re delighted for Atlantic Quantum to join us as Google continues to invest in the future of quantum computing and deliver its benefits to society. Learn more about our mission and follow our progress at quantumai.google.

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Rinton Press - Publisher in Science and Technology

Rinton Press, a science and technology publisher, is founded by a team of scholars and publication professionals, and is based in Princeton, New Jersey. Rinton Press serves the scientific and academic community by publishing, marketing and distributing journals, books and proceedings, through a progressively wide variety of media such as CD-ROM and Internet in addition to conventional print on paper.

SciTech Chronicles. . . . . . . . .Feb 24, 2025

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