Unconvinced that Large Hadron Collider was a good name, the Royal Society of Chemistry decided to run a poll to find a something better. Leaving aside the shameless bandwagon jumping (surely this was a job for the Institute of Physics if anyone?) the slightly uninspiring choice of the public was ‘Halo’.

In a statement the RSC says:

Some reports say that the RSC is suffering from ‘professional jealousy’ [over the LHC]; far from it. The RSC congratulates the physics community with nothing but admiration for their amazing project – it just has a very boring name.

The name Halo was suggested by Aaron Borges of Black Mesa, Rhode Island, USA, who doesn’t seem to be deliberately plugging the Microsoft video game of the same name. Other popular entries were Deep Thought, The Particrasher, E=M25, The Big Banger and Big Bang Two Point Oh.

Sadly the RSC obviously has no power to rename the LHC, so LHC it will stay. “We’re flattered that the RSC should take such an interest in our public image, and we find the name Halo to be apposite. However, the LHC will not be changing its name,” says a spokesman (Daily Telegraph).

Jumping onto the bandwagon with their own bandwagon (and pushing my metaphor use to breaking point) is Wired:

No offence to Aaron, but I just can’t get excited about this: Beyond the fact that Microsoft probably owns the word by now, it’s a little too cute.

Wired Science is therefore proud to announce our own Large Hadron Collider Renaming Contest.

Black Mesa, another video game reference, is doing well, but ‘Chuck Norris’s Roundhouse Kick Simulator’ is close behind. That may not mean anyone who doesn’t follow internet in-jokes.

If you still want more alternative LHC names, head on over to Digg for more discussion of the matter.

Image: cern