What the LHC jargon means

The "beam" is pulses of (initially) hydrogen nucleii (protons).  These travel at a speed so close to that of light that it makes no sense to talk of speed, but of energy.  How much energy?  A lot.  The entire beam, which contains no more rest mass than a grain of sand contains the energy of a full-speed freight train when accelerated.  Each proton has the energy of a gnat in full flight - you could feel it.   What happens on collision?  Beams circulating in opposite directions are focussed so that they cross, and within a very small radius. 

So what is all this business about "beam capture" and "beam splashes" that have been reported?

"Beam capture" means that the pulses of protons have been synchronised with the acceleration system, which adds energy.

A "beam splash" is what happens when the beam hits the collimator - a system to ensure that the beam is even, and the collimator has been closed.  The collision of particles with the collimator results in secondary particles which can be seen in various detectors. 

So things are looking good for the start-up of the LHC.  But patience is required.  Even at the phenomenal rate of up to a GB per second of data during the collisions of protons it will take years for enough samples to be collected to confirm the detection of new particles.