Twenty member states contribute to The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known by its French acronym, CERN, a vast laboratory located 100 meters (328 feet) beneath the surface of the French-Swiss border.

The Large Hadron Particle Collider

After more than 25 years of preparation, the huge particle accelerator outside Geneva went on line in 2008, as scientists attempted to re-create the conditions produced by the Big Bang.

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