Shield your eyes, electronics and physics fans! What you're seeing is exactly what it looks like: the LHC's circuit boards right before the door slammed shut and the rinse cycle began.


Is it a tragic mixup on the part of some overworked lab assistant? All part of some elaborate ransom plot by a physics-hating supervillain? Nah, just standard lab operating procedure. CERN shared this little slice of lab life noting that all was exactly as it seemed — although this particular dishwasher was a little more souped up than normal:

If you think the image above shows a dishwasher, you wouldn't be completely wrong. Apart from the fact that the whole pumping system and the case itself are made entirely from stainless steel and chemical resistant materials, and the fact that it washes electrical boards instead of dishes… it works exactly like a dishwasher.


Contrary to causing any electrical issues, a regular trip to the dishwasher actually lengthens the lives of these circuits. And, just like the kitchen equivalent model, it depends mostly on soap and water (though in this case, a special alkaline cleaning agent and de-ionized water) to get the job done.

Image: Clara Nellist / CERN