CERN

ALICE
Components are assembled for A Large Ion Collider Experiment, a.k.a. ALICE, an experiment to measure the matter created in the extaordinarily high temperatures — estimated at 100,000 times hotter than the sun — that existed after the Big Bang and that will be created by the particle collider.



Massive Magnet
The central piece of the CMS detector weighs over 1900 tons. In this photo, taken in February of 2007, the central magnet is shown just after it was lowered into its place. According to CERN's website, this was a "challenging feat of engineering, as there are just 20 cm (8.6 inches) of leeway between the detector and the walls of the shaft."



Chips
A technician works on a layer of the CMS. More than 2000 scientists, from 37 countries, are collaborating in the experiments related to the CMS detector.


Data Center
During the experiments, CERN's computers will process 15 million gigabytes of data per year. To allow the thousands of scientists scattered around the globe to collaborate on the analysis of the data, tens of thousands of computers located around the world are being harnessed in a distributed computing network called the Grid.


The Magnet Core
Winding the solenoid coil of the CMS took five years to complete. When it is fully operational, it will generate a magnetic field 100,000 times stronger than the one produced by the Earth.


The Collider
Designed to recreate the conditions just after the Big Bang, the Large Hadron Collider, 27 kilometers (16.7 miles) long, is housed in a pipe-like structure 100 meters below ground. As part of the experiment, two beams of subatomic particles, called 'hadrons,' will travel in opposite directions inside the circular accelerator, gaining energy with every lap. Physicists will then let them collide head-on into each other and measure the results with the CMS and other instruments.



The Compact Muon Solenoid
Weighing over 12,500 tons, the CMS is one of two large general purpose detectors built on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). During the experiments, scientists will use it to investigate a wide range of physics, including the search for the elusive Higgs boson, extra dimensions, and particles that could make up dark matter.


CERN - Twenty member states contribute to The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known by its French acronym, CERN, a vast laboratory located 100 meters (328 feet) beneath the surface of the French-Swiss border.


Founded in 1952, CERN has been the location of some of the world's most important scientific developments. Tim Berners-Lee, commonly regarded as the father of the Internet, successfully tested his idea for the world wide web here in 1990.

Source: www.time.com