Large Hadron Collider Goes Live, Rap Video Explains All
A few hours ago, somewhere under the border between Switzerland and France, the world’s largest and most expensive science experiment was put through its first test run.
For those who aren’t familiar with the Large Hadron Collider, it’s basically a 17-mile circular racetrack and demolition derby for subatomic particles. The LHC is the most complex and powerful particle collider ever constructed, the interior of the collider is colder and emptier than the depths of outer space, and the submicroscopic specks of matter that stream through it travel at faster than 99.9% the speed of light. When they collide, massive particle detectors sift through the wreckage for new clues into what makes the universe work.
Wired Science has a good breakdown of exactly what the thousands of scientists on the project hope to discover. Meanwhile this rap video, made by a 23 year-old employee of the CERN press office in her spare time, hits the high points:
Kate McAlpine, the woman behind the video, has become something of an internet celebrity since the clip was released on YouTube. You can read some of her story in this article from London’s Daily Telegraph.
Update: Now you can keep track of whether or not the LHC has destroyed the world using this handy website. They even have an RSS feed for up-to-the-minute earth destruction news. (via Jonathan Coulton)
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