"After the incident, the long-term plan was to get some running at intermediate energy and then have a long shut-down when we improve the connections between the magnets, " Prof Weidberg told BBC News.

BBC: LHC switches off for two-year break

The idea of storing energy from a spring in an intermediate electrical form was taken a stage further in Freeplay's clockwork torch.

ECONOMIST: MONITOR

This basic idea of storing energy from the spring in an intermediate electrical form was taken a stage further in Freeplay's clockwork torch, which was launched last year.

ECONOMIST: Clockwork technology