First, before any repair work could begin, the magnets had to be heated up from their low temperatures at absolute zero to room temperature. The warm-up process took about a month.
The next step was to isolate the magnets from one other. This was done by opening up the interconnections between each faulty magnet and its neighbours.
Next, each damaged magnet was lifted up to the surface. The magnets are 15 metres long and weigh 20-30 tonnes. They had to be raised approximately 100 metres up a shaft to ground level, while being kept perfectly parallel to the floor.
The damaged magnets were then inspected at a nearby above-ground site. Following this check-up, essentials repairs were carried out on a total of 205 electrical interconnections.
At the same time, over 4 kilometres of beam tube – the pipe which carries the beam of sub-atomic particles through the magnets – had to undergo a complete clean-out following the incident. This was done by pulling a large pad dipped in alcohol along the inside of the tube.
A restraint system was fitted to the magnets to tie them down and prevent them from being thrown off their supports in future.
Hundreds of helium pressure release valves were also installed around each magnet to prevent any build-up of pressure in the future.
After repairs, the magnets were taken back to their original locations, and then lowered carefully into position between their neighbours.
Once the magnets were in place, the electrical cables between them were connected up. The connections were coated in copper, which was then heated under pressure to solder the parts together.
Finally, all the magnets were connected up and tested, and then the temperature was brought down again to absolute zero.
As for the future, to prevent such accidents from happening again, the whole meltdown warning system was given a major upgrade.
Hundreds of new detectors were installed around the magnets to constantly monitor the status of the interconnections and initiate an automatic shutdown of power to the magnets in case of any problem.
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Draft Product Design Specification
1. Recommended product name: the name should reflect the fact that it is a space spin-off, and suggest weightlessness: for example, MoonWalker or SpaceRunner.
2. Recommended product description: “an enclosed treadmill that utilizes air pressure in an inflatable bag to support body weight, without a winch or harness”.
3. Performance requirements for new product:
· reduce user’s weight by up to 80%
· give precise measured support
· allow incremental (1%) adjustment of air pressure
· provide unrestricted motion for legs and upper body
· run at a variable speed adjustable up to 16 kph
· present a variable incline (or slope) up to 15°
4. Recommended ergonomic features:
· touch button on screen to increase/reduce support for body weight
· adjust speed, incline and air pressure using simple controls
· change settings while running, without needing to stop
· attach body safely to machine using special shorts that zip into airbag
5. operating environments: machine must be able to function within
· an ambient temperature range of 10-29°C
· a relative humidity range of 20-95%
6. Dimension and weight requirements:
· maximum 4X2,5 m footprint to allow for adequate space around machine
· similar weight to a normal running treadmill
7. safety requirements:
Since the product is intended for export throughout Europe including the UK, compliance with all applicable BS and EU safety standards is essential.
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Cloud Computing
Source: learnthenet.com
Cloud computing refers to the next evolution of the Internet. Instead of buying software, installing it on your computer, upgrading it periodically and storing all your data on your hard drive, with cloud computing you use software applications online, as a service. All you need is your computing device and an Internet connection.
Another way to think of it is like the electricity that runs into your home or office. To use it, you just plug into an outlet, whether you want to run a copy machine, a TV set or an espresso maker. Like electricity, which is metered, with cloud computing you just pay for the services you use. But many services are free.
You may already be using cloud computing without even knowing it. Do you have a Web-based e-mail service like Yahoo!Mail or gMail? The software to compose, send, receive and store all your messages is in the cloud. As a customer, you have reliable access to your e-mail 24/7 and never have to update the software. It's all done behind the scenes. Do you really care where everything is physically located?
Here's another example: Millions of people use Microsoft Word to create documents. An alternative is Google Docs, which gives you some, but not all, of the same features as Word. Google Docs is hosted in the cloud. You access the word processing program through your web browser, just like a website. Once you've created your document, you can print it, save it, revise it at a later date or e-mail a link to the document so others can read it or even edit it online. Instead of the document residing on your hard drive or your company's network, it's stored in the cloud.
Many businesses are moving to cloud computing because it frees the IT department from having to install, maintain and upgrade software on all the company computers. It can also save money, because access to software applications is priced similar to that of a utility – just pay for what you use each month.
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