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CERN levels up with new superconducting karts
- Noe2097 6mo ago> Each kart is turbo-boosted by 64 superconducting engines,” explains project leader Mario Idraulico I guess we can now call you Mario 'Kart' Idraulico. Oh wait. Thank you CERN, that was a smart one.
- coldsmoke 6mo agoSince I didn't get the name reference either, here is a link for those who want a hint: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idraulico https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idraulico
- fnands 6mo agoNice, I didn't get it. I just realized "Kyouryuu" is Japanese for dinosaur. And Pfirsich is of course Peach.
- voidUpdate 6mo agoIs this an april fools joke? The title image looks so over-the-top that I really can't tell if it's a joke or not
- tgsovlerkhgsel 6mo agoCTRL+F "safety and health"
- kakacik 6mo agoNo of course not, they have Mario guys running around in karts doing maintenance of hyper complex system with wrenches. No physics can resist Mario's wrench, thats how we move humanity forward
- gnarlouse 6mo agoHappy April Fools Day!
- fnands 6mo agoI always look forward to CERN's April fools jokes!
- pjmlp 6mo agoAs Alumni, the tables outside R1 are prime for getting ideas, with some help from fermented barley, especially after work during Summertime.
- lloydatkinson 6mo ago[flagged]
- junon 6mo agoHow dare people have fun.
- hidroto 6mo agoThis is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four. -- Mark Twain, "Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar"
- MisterTea 6mo agoYou must be a real hoot at parties.
- ecshafer 6mo agoThis is an old internet tradition. I am disappointed so few organizations are doing a good april fools day post nowadays.
- aaron695 6mo ago[dead]
- koolala 6mo agohigh temperature super conductors my beloved
- rvnx 6mo agoMeh joke considering this was paid on public money. Same as choosing to spend xxx,xxx USD to have .cern when using subdomains would have worked too (and caused less validation / compatibility issues).
- fnands 6mo agoThey got the intern to write a funny post. Probably took them an hour and it drums up a bit of good press for the Hi-Lumi LHC. Money well spent if you ask me.
- steve1977 6mo agoAs a tax payer in one of the member states, I approve of this joke.
- kryptiskt 6mo agoThe Web is a side project of CERN, they should have gotten a comped top-level domain by rights.
- mrguyorama 6mo agoThis page cost taxpayers like 100 Euros maybe. How much money do you think scientists actually make? How much money and effort do you think it takes to post a blog article with a couple paragraphs of text and an image?
- rbanffy 6mo agoI really miss Think Geek :-(
- PunchyHamster 6mo agoWe need followup post exactly 365 days later describing first karting accident inside CERN
- tom-blk 6mo agoExactly
- thomasgeelens 6mo agooh my, I should really visit one day, I'm not even that far from CERN
- fnands 6mo agoThey do some good tours. They are first come/first serve, so show up in the morning for the best chance to get a place.
- cern 6mo agoCERN Research Facility, Geneva. Subject: Gordon Freeman, Male, Age 27
- fnands 6mo agoGérard Hommelibre? Bonjour, and bienvenue to the Black Mesa - pardon, la Mesa Noire - Établissement de Recherche. Please keep your hands inside le tramway at all times, and do try not to provoquer une cascade de résonance. Merci.
- groundzeros2015 6mo agoPlease bro. Just one more particle collider. This one will solve science. The last one wasn’t big enough. Please keep it in desirable real estate though.
- taneq 6mo agoEach bigger one has in fact solved more of physics, after being built precisely because there was a good theoretical case for a higher energy collider being helpful.
- groundzeros2015 6mo agoI’m ignorant. It’s a meme about their optics being terrible after steam ran out for 90s science optimism.
- ahartmetz 6mo agoAs somebody slightly better informed (physics degree, following popular science): It really isn't looking great for something that could be found at a small multiple of current energies, but not at current energies.
- Akuehne 6mo agoThis got me. Thought it was real, busted out laughing when I read the project leads name. It still didn't click.
- throw101010 6mo agoSmall clue here too, maybe more subtle: > explained school director, Rosalina Pfirsich, looking up from her storybook Pfirsich in German means Peach, as in Princess Peach :D
- hapidjus 6mo agoThere is also ”project leader Mario Idraulico”
- adrian_b 6mo agoAlso "project leader Mario Idraulico" (i.e. "hydraulic" in Italian) or "Safety coordinator Luigi Fratello" ("Brother Luigi").
- TeMPOraL 6mo agoAlso the schoolteacher Yoshi Kyouryuu which apparently is the dinosaur.
- dasyatidprime 6mo agoThe noun “idraulico” also means “plumber”.
- rmast 6mo agoThey’ve also got: > schoolteacher Yoshi Kyouryuu, mid-way through painting spots on eggs
- darth_aardvark 6mo agoYou somehow identified the last possible, most obscure clue. Mario, Luigi, Rosalina, and Yoshi show up before that.
- 6mo ago
- rippeltippel 6mo agoRight on time! "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" released today.
- totalmarkdown 6mo ago[flagged]
- shevy-java 6mo agoIt took me a while to notice the first april, but actually the image was too unbelievable. But if such karts were possible, I bet the guys at CERN would absolutely use it. And then post on youtube. We know how things happen in "professional research".
- nicman23 6mo agoif you reached c with such a cart - nevermind the heat from air friction, would you be able to breath from a rebreather?
- ourmandave 6mo agoI would pay stupid money for a CERN Tunnel Rainbow Road track DLC.
- rmast 6mo agoHow about for a real life Rainbow Road made by the Quantum Mushroom startup? I think that might be the aerospace applications reference in the article: > 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.
- MisterTea 6mo ago> How about for a real life Rainbow Road made by the Quantum Mushroom startup? I once drove on a rainbow road after using some mushroom products. Do not recommend.
- anthk 6mo agoAs an homage, Supertuxkart might add a CERN-LHC inspired level with a wormhole as a secret path.
- stego-tech 6mo agoAh, the stages of a good April Fool's nerd joke: 1, Reading the Headline on HN) "Man, this is probably going to be something more practical, but I wish they were superconducting go-karts or golf-carts to get around the facility in." 2, Reading the article) "...okay, I was right? Kinda? Huh. Something feels off. Wait a-" 3, Remembering the Date) "FUCK. OK, CERN got me. Good one. Still want a superconducting kart though."
- NewLogic 6mo agoTakes me back to the week we all thought room temperature super conductors might be a solved problem.
- Bratmon 6mo agoThat served a useful purpose- it let you objectively identify how gullible everyone you know is.
- fragmede 6mo agoIt also served the purpose of finding out who the cynical Debbie Downers who have no hope are as well!
- Bratmon 6mo agoIf your hope for the future is based on believing the most obviously-impossible technological claim in the world, you're way more cynical than I am.
- ppsreejith 6mo agoWhy are room temperature superconductors an 'obviously-impossible' technological claim? Asking since we've managed to increase superconductor temperature several times in the past, right? (to ~ -130 degrees celsius right now IIRC). Why is our current temperature of, say ~30 degrees celsius special?
- bell-cot 6mo agoIf you look at a list of known superconductors and their transition temperatures - it appears that the difficulty of getting a material to superconduct is proportional some unfriendly power of the absolute temperature. Superconducting does seem much easier under a few hundred GPa's of pressure - but that's less convenient to maintain than liquid helium cooling.
- 6mo ago
- nekusar 6mo agoThey missed a perfect spot to mention something about "Gordon". (Half-Life joke)
- WhitneyLand 6mo agoCall me a killjoy I hate April fools jokes.
- fnands 6mo agoAlright then: killjoy
- deleted 6mo ago[deleted]
- gluten_guardian 6mo agoOfcourse the guy explaining the carts is called "Mario".
- the_af 6mo agoMario Idraulico and Luigi Fratello overseeing this project? I hope the karts don't run into any stray kooparticles.
- pugworthy 6mo agoI'd be cautious of residual Higgs Booson particles in the tunnels. They can cause unexpected phase shifts if encountered, which may expose the driver to unexpected hazards.
- lapetitejort 6mo agoThe observer effect prevents Booson particles from traveling towards the observer
- moron4hire 6mo agoReally enjoyed the "karts and equipment will reach underground areas via giant green pipes" caption on the LHC tunnel diagram.
- earthnail 6mo agoMario Idraulico says „mamma mia, they’re super”. Gosh I love April.