11/09/2008 (Agence Europe) - EU Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik has hailed the successful launch in Europe of the largest particle accelerator ever built. On Wednesday 10 September, physicists at CERN (European Centre for Nuclear Research) switched on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The work carried out by CERN will increase our knowledge of the universe and will also have direct applications (supercomputing, medicine). “Europe can be very proud to see that European scientists working together” have been able to set up one of the world's most advanced physics experiments, the commissioner said. He saw in this the “perfect illustration” of what the Commission is promoting in research. The official launch of the LHC will take place in Geneva on 21 October. (L.C./transl.rt)