28 magnets out, and the first replacement is not due until 2029
What happened
CERN has started taking apart some of the most important parts of the Large Hadron Collider. The LHC is a ring 27 kilometres round, buried under the border between Switzerland and France. It fires two beams of particles in opposite directions and smashes them together. Dismantling work began on 7 September 2026, as part of what CERN calls its third long shutdown, or LS3. The work was reported publicly on 25 September 2026. The parts coming out are called inner triplets. Each is a group of three quadrupole magnets, and they sit on both sides of the four main experiments. Their job is to squeeze the particle beams tight just before they collide. A tighter squeeze means more collisions. In total, 28 superconducting magnets are scheduled for removal. They have been doing this job since they were installed between 2005 and 2007. The replacements are part of the High-Luminosity LHC project. Sixteen cryostats and 28 cryo-assemblies will be installed. The new magnets will produce a magnetic field about 40% stronger, reaching 11.3 tesla. The first new quadrupole magnet is not expected to arrive until the start of 2029.
Why this matters
It is easy to think of a big science facility as finished once it is built. It is not. It is more like a working kitchen that needs rebuilding every decade or so. "Luminosity" is the word physicists use for how many collisions you get. More collisions means more data, and more data means rarer events can be spotted. Some of the things physicists most want to see happen so infrequently that you simply need a bigger pile of collisions to find them. The upgrade swaps one superconducting material for another. The current magnets use niobium-titanium. The new ones use niobium-tin, which can carry a stronger field. That is why the beams can be squeezed harder. Two of the four big experiments, ATLAS and CMS, get the new inner triplets. The other two, ALICE and LHCb, keep their current ones but still benefit from more collisions overall. Jean-Philippe Tock, who heads the LS3 coordination team, said: "The replacement of these magnets with the new HiLumi LHC inner triplets is crucial for the coming high-luminosity years." There is also a quieter point here about timescales. A project that starts dismantling in 2026 and expects its first replacement part in 2029 is planning on a scale most organisations never attempt.
What the evidence actually says
This is engineering news rather than a discovery, so there is no result to weigh up. What there is, is a plan with numbers attached. The verified figures are these: a 27 kilometre ring, 28 superconducting magnets being removed, 16 cryostats and 28 cryo-assemblies going in, a magnetic field around 40% stronger at 11.3 tesla, original installation between 2005 and 2007, dismantling started 7 September 2026, and first new magnet expected at the start of 2029. What we cannot tell you is whether the upgrade will deliver any particular scientific finding. Nobody can. That is what "research" means. We also cannot promise the timetable holds. Large physics projects have a long history of slipping, and CERN itself describes 2029 as when the first magnet is anticipated. It is worth being clear about one more thing, because it comes up whenever the LHC is in the news. Particle collisions at the LHC are not dangerous to anyone outside the tunnel. Cosmic rays hit the Earth's atmosphere with far more energy, constantly, and have done for billions of years.
Practical advice
This one is not going to change your week, so the practical advice is about how to follow it, and how to use it. If you have a teenager weighing up physics or engineering, this is a useful conversation starter. The LHC upgrade is not mostly about theory. It is cryogenics, welding, magnet design, vacuum engineering and project management on a very large scale. CERN publishes updates on its own website, and they are written for the public rather than for specialists. It is one of the better places to get science news without a middleman. If you are teaching or explaining this, the kitchen analogy holds up well. The experiments are the cooks. The magnets are the hobs. CERN is replacing the hobs with hotter ones, and it will take three years for the first new one to be delivered. Be a little sceptical of headlines about the LHC "restarting the universe" or similar. The real story, that a machine is being carefully upgraded over several years, is less dramatic and more interesting. And if you want to see it, CERN runs visits and has a visitor centre. It is a genuinely good day out.
What to know
CERN began dismantling part of the Large Hadron Collider on 7 September 2026, as part of its third long shutdown. Twenty-eight superconducting magnets, first installed between 2005 and 2007, are being removed from the inner triplets that focus the particle beams. Replacements use niobium-tin rather than niobium-titanium and will be about 40% stronger, reaching 11.3 tesla, allowing far more collisions. Sixteen cryostats and 28 cryo-assemblies will be installed. The first new quadrupole magnet is expected at the start of 2029. ATLAS and CMS receive the new inner triplets; ALICE and LHCb keep theirs but still gain from higher luminosity. Sources: CERN via ScienceDaily, "CERN has begun disconnecting the Large Hadron Collider", 25 September 2026, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260925005430.htm; CERN, "High-Luminosity LHC", accessed 26 September 2026, https://home.cern/science/accelerators/high-luminosity-lhc; CERN, "The Large Hadron Collider", accessed 26 September 2026, https://home.cern/science/accelerators/large-hadron-collider. This article is for general information. It is not medical advice, and it does not replace guidance from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional on any health matter.
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