Brussels, 23/10/2008 (Agence Europe) - In Geneva on Tuesday 21 October, the European nuclear research organisation CERN inaugurated the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's most powerful particle accelerator. The bulk of the cost of constructing the LHC was borne by CERN's member states. “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 experiment,' said European Science and Research Commissioner, Janez Potoènik in a press release. It is hoped the LHC will help unlock the secrets of the formation of the universe by smashing protons into one another at close to the speed of light. The Accelerator is located near Geneva, on the French-Swiss border. It is made up of a tunnel in the form of a ring 27 kilometres in circumference, 100 metres underground. At four points around the ring, there are huge detectors where the protons will collide. Two beams of sub-atomic particles (either protons or lead ions) will circulate in opposite directions inside the circular accelerator, accumulating energy, with each revolution. By bringing the two highly energised beams into head-on collision at close the speed of light, the LHC will recreate the conditions that existed just after the Big Bang. Teams of physicists from around the world will study the particles that result from these collisions using special detectors. The inauguration of the LHC took place despite a breakdown. On 10 September, a faulty electric connection between two superconducting magnets shut the LHC down. It will only be restarted in spring 2009. (B.C./transl.rt)