LHC beampipe interconnection

Particle beams circulate for around 10 hours in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). During this time, the particles make four hundred million revolutions of the machine, travelling a distance equivalent to the diameter of the solar system. The beams must travel in a pipe which is emptied of air, to avoid collisions between the particles and air molecules (which are considerably bigger than protons). The beam pipes are pumped down to an air pressure similar to that on the surface of the moon. Much of the LHC runs at 1.9 degrees above absolute zero. When material is cooled, it contracts. The interconnections must absorb this contraction whilst maintaining electrical connectivity.