CERN levels up with new superconducting karts

https://home.cern/news/news/engineering/cern-levels-new-superconducting-karts

by fnands • 4 months ago

395 81 4 months ago

home.cern

Noe2097• 4 months 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• 4 months ago

Since I didn't get the name reference either, here is a link for those who want a hint: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idraulico

fnands6• 4 months ago

Nice, I didn't get it.

I just realized "Kyouryuu" is Japanese for dinosaur.

And Pfirsich is of course Peach.

voidUpdate• 4 months ago

Is 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• 4 months ago

CTRL+F "safety and health"

kakacik• 4 months ago

No 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

gostsamo• 4 months ago

There is a Luigi on the team as well. How it can't be true?

gnarlouse• 4 months ago

Happy April Fools Day!

fnands6• 4 months ago

I always look forward to CERN's April fools jokes!

pjmlp• 4 months ago

As Alumni, the tables outside R1 are prime for getting ideas, with some help from fermented barley, especially after work during Summertime.

koolala• 4 months ago

high temperature super conductors my beloved

rvnx• 4 months ago

Meh 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).

fnands6• 4 months ago

They 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• 4 months ago

As a tax payer in one of the member states, I approve of this joke.

kryptiskt• 4 months ago

The Web is a side project of CERN, they should have gotten a comped top-level domain by rights.

mrguyorama• 4 months ago

This 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• 4 months ago

I really miss Think Geek :-(

jansan• 4 months ago

When they later actually sold the t-shirt they had previously presented as an April Fools joke? That was pretty cool.

taneq2• 4 months ago

I still had a Timmy the Monkey sticker on the lid of my kitchen bin up until a couple of years ago.

PunchyHamster• 4 months ago

We need followup post exactly 365 days later describing first karting accident inside CERN

tom-blk• 4 months ago

Exactly

thomasgeelens• 4 months ago

oh my, I should really visit one day, I'm not even that far from CERN

fnands6• 4 months ago

They 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• 4 months ago

CERN Research Facility, Geneva. Subject: Gordon Freeman, Male, Age 27

fnands6• 4 months ago

Gérard 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.

leoc• 4 months ago

Tired: particle accelerator which crosses the border between France and Switzerland.

Wired: particle accelerator which crosses the border between Quebec and Ontario.

groundzeros20152• 4 months ago

Please 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.

taneq2• 4 months ago

Each 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.

groundzeros20152• 4 months ago

I’m ignorant. It’s a meme about their optics being terrible after steam ran out for 90s science optimism.

Akuehne• 4 months ago

This got me. Thought it was real, busted out laughing when I read the project leads name. It still didn't click.

throw101010• 4 months ago

Small 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• 4 months ago

There is also ”project leader Mario Idraulico”

adrian_b• 4 months ago

Also "project leader Mario Idraulico" (i.e. "hydraulic" in Italian) or "Safety coordinator Luigi Fratello" ("Brother Luigi").

rmast2• 4 months ago

They’ve also got:

schoolteacher Yoshi Kyouryuu, mid-way through painting spots on eggs

darth_aardvark• 4 months ago

You somehow identified the last possible, most obscure clue. Mario, Luigi, Rosalina, and Yoshi show up before that.

shevy-java2• 4 months ago

For me it was easier. While I forgot it was first april, the image was too outrageous. Looked like AI-generated slop.

They may have had more success with another image. AI slop made us lazy.

riffraff2• 4 months ago

IMO a made up "artist conception" picture on an article like this would have been perfectly appropriate, we've seen worse (think of the whole NEOM thingy).

riffraff2• 4 months ago

ah! got me too!

shdudns• 4 months ago

Man I fell for it until I saw your post. In fact, I was just about to post what the man's name means in Italian.

I was even going to point out how ironic it is that the mans first name and last name fit together so well.

In my defense I only got as far as idraulico and missed the "Mamma mia, they're super!"

newsclues• 4 months ago

I read the title and thought CERN + Mario Kart and am giggling.

marricks2• 4 months ago

Someone was saying "can we just not with April fools" this year because everything is so grim and dire in the world... but I think this is such a perfect level we need. I could go for more whimsy like this.

Pixelbrick• 4 months ago

I'd of said I had limited appetite for April fools gubbins this year too but this still made me smile :)

moron4hire2• 4 months ago

This one was good. It was pretty low-stakes and not anything that would impact anyone. For a while there, companies like Google were announcing products that sounded like a good idea, but turned out were just them trolling everyone over things people had been requesting for a long time.

charltones• 4 months ago

Also the hat and mustache of the kart driver.

rippeltippel• 4 months ago

Right on time! "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" released today.

shevy-java2• 4 months ago

It 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• 4 months ago

if you reached c with such a cart - nevermind the heat from air friction, would you be able to breath from a rebreather?

ourmandave• 4 months ago

I would pay stupid money for a CERN Tunnel Rainbow Road track DLC.

rmast2• 4 months ago

How 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• 4 months 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• 4 months ago

As an homage, Supertuxkart might add a CERN-LHC inspired level with a wormhole as a secret path.

stego-tech• 4 months ago

Ah, 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• 4 months ago

Takes me back to the week we all thought room temperature super conductors might be a solved problem.

Bratmon2• 4 months ago

That served a useful purpose- it let you objectively identify how gullible everyone you know is.

fragmede2• 4 months ago

It also served the purpose of finding out who the cynical Debbie Downers who have no hope are as well!

chime• 4 months ago

There was more than enough skepticism and cautious optimism too. While it sounded too soon to be real, it wasn't unlike carbon nanotubes, graphene, or solid state batteries — previously unachievable material-tech getting validation in the lab, with a 20yr pipeline for global production. With even nuclear fusion being achieved in very specific / limited instances in the last decade, it's not inconceivable to hope that maybe RTSC are just around the corner.

nekusar• 4 months ago

They missed a perfect spot to mention something about "Gordon".

(Half-Life joke)

WhitneyLand• 4 months ago

Call me a killjoy I hate April fools jokes.

fnands6• 4 months ago

Alright then: killjoy

gluten_guardian• 4 months ago

Ofcourse the guy explaining the carts is called "Mario".

the_af• 4 months ago

Mario Idraulico and Luigi Fratello overseeing this project? I hope the karts don't run into any stray kooparticles.

pugworthy• 4 months ago

I'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• 4 months ago

The observer effect prevents Booson particles from traveling towards the observer

moron4hire2• 4 months ago

Really enjoyed the "karts and equipment will reach underground areas via giant green pipes" caption on the LHC tunnel diagram.

earthnail• 4 months ago

Mario Idraulico says „mamma mia, they’re super”. Gosh I love April.

CERN levels up with new superconducting karts

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