CERN starts disconnecting LHC magnets for collision upgrade

CERN has cut the first connection between magnets at the Large Hadron Collider, beginning work to replace magnets that focus particle beams before they collide. Tighter focusing is intended to produce more collisions for experiments to study. The replacement magnets will use niobium-tin coils to generate fields of 11.3 tesla, about 40% stronger than the current system. CERN plans to remove 28 superconducting magnets around the ATLAS and CMS experiments. The first new focusing magnet is expected to reach the collider tunnel at the start of 2029.