Keeping the LHC cold

The LHC is one of the coldest places on the planet. Liquid helium is constantly pulsing through sophisticated plumbing that runs both inside and outside of the Large Hadron Collider. Thanks to this cryogenic cooling system, the LHC is colder than interstellar space. But why does it need to be kept at these intensely frigid temperatures? "Because if not, the magnets would not work," says Serge Claudet, the deputy head of CERN's cryogenics group. The cable that is coiled to make the LHC's powerful...