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The '''Large Hadron Collider''' (LHC)  is a [[particle accelerator]], with a circumference of 27km,  located at the [[CERN]] facility with straddles the border of France and Switzerland. Built over 15 years at a cost of $9 billion, it is the largest and most ambitious piece of machinery ever conceived and built by man.  

The '''Large Hadron Collider''' (LHC)  is a [[particle accelerator]], with a circumference of 27km,  located at the [[CERN]] facility which straddles the border of France and Switzerland. Built over 15 years at a cost of $9 billion, it is the largest and most ambitious piece of machinery ever conceived and built by man.  

The LHC was powered up on Wednesday 10 September 2008, with the first beams being circulated through the collider. It reached full power in mid-November 2008, which is when scientists were supposed to begin smashing [[particle]]s into each other. This was hampered however as the LHC suffered a mechanical breakdown just as it was switched on and will not be active again until late 2009.  Numerous major problems have emerged and it may take years before the machine is fully operational.<ref> See [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/science/earth/04collide.html?ref=world "Giant Particle Collider Fizzles," Dennis Overbye ''New York Times'' Aug. 3, 2009]</ref>

The LHC was powered up on Wednesday 10 September 2008, with the first beams being circulated through the collider. It reached full power in mid-November 2008, which is when scientists were supposed to begin smashing [[particle]]s into each other. This was hampered however as the LHC suffered a mechanical breakdown just as it was switched on and will not be active again until late 2009.  Numerous major problems have emerged and it may take years before the machine is fully operational.<ref> See [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/science/earth/04collide.html?ref=world "Giant Particle Collider Fizzles," Dennis Overbye ''New York Times'' Aug. 3, 2009]</ref>