Introduction to the machine: The Large Hadron Collider, built underneath the Swiss and French Alps, is the world's largest particle accelerator, 14 years in the making.Now Under Construction:A Black Hole Factory 3/1/2002
DISCOVER's own Phil Plait, The Bad Astronomer, takes a tour of the machine.Europe: Day 3—CERN! The LHC! 4/22/2008
The LHC's main target: finding evidence of the ever-elusive Higgs boson, the so-called "God particle."Catch Me if You Can 7/24/2005
Hopefully, though, all those underground collisions will reveal more than just the Higgs.Beyond the Higgs 8/13/2007
To do its work, the LHC has to be cold, and we mean cold.Is the LHC colder than space? 7/23/2008
And "large" is an understatement: The LHC's main ring is 17 miles around, and over the course of its life it will crank out an enormous amount of data.The Biggest Thing in Physics 8/13/2007Will the Large Hadron Collider Create 12 Miles of Data? 7/22/2008
If you need your physics explanations to be rhymed (and augmented by amazingly bad dancing), here's the LHC rap:Worst(and Best) Science Rap of the Week 9/2/2008
It's not all fun and games, though. As you may have heard, some people are stricken with the idea that the collider will create "strangelets," mini blackholes that will destroy the world. So they sued in order to stop the LHC from activating.Taking Particle Physics to Court 3/29/2008
When the legal avenue failed to stop the march of physics, other LHC opponents took another tack—threatening the scientists.Letter to LHC Scientists: You Are Evil and Dangerous 9/5/2008
And just when you thought it couldn't get weirder, some scientists speculate that the consequences of the LHC's experiments will prevent those experiments from ever taking place. Wait, what?Willthe LHC's Future Cancel Out Its Past? 8/11/2008
Physicists try, and try, and try to reassure everyone that no, in fact, the world will not end when they start smashing particles this month.The Extremely Long Odds Against the Destruction of the Earth 7/24/2008Physics Experiment Won't Destroy Earth 6/23/2008Brian Cox calls 'em like he sees 'em 9/7/2008
And finally, let the colliding commence.The Large Hadron Collider Will Finally Start Smashing in September 8/7/2008All Systems Go For World's Largest Particle Smasher 8/26/2008First Protons Whiz Around the Large Hadron Collider’s Track 9/10/2008
