From my favorite website, the best photographs I’ve seen this year:

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a 27 kilometer (17 mile) long particle accelerator straddling the border of Switzerland and France, is nearly set to begin its first particle beam tests. The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) is preparing for its first small tests in early August, leading to a planned full-track test in September - and the first planned particle collisions before the end of the year. The final step before starting is the chilling of the entire collider to -271.25 C (-456.25 F). Here is a collection of photographs from CERN, showing various stages of completion of the LHC and several of its larger experiments (some over seven stories tall), over the past several years. (via The Big Picture)

Back in March, Nat Geo featured a story titled The God Particle, which continues to amaze me today. This LHC is a behemoth. We’re only 4 days away from the start of testing, and there are plenty of people worried about what the LHC is capable of doing.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 3rd, 2008 at 8 pm and is filed under links, news, photography.