The Large Hadron Collider, the gigantic particle accelerator in Switzerland that has the potential (very minute potential) to create a black hole and suck all life as we know it into oblivion, went online yesterday. They're only in the "warm-up" phase at this point, running protons around the 17 mile underground circuit, and haven't put them on collision courses just yet. It looks like we have until at least late fall to eat Cheetos, pancakes, bacon, and beer until the end of times.
Anywho, looking through some of The New York Times about the Collider reminded me of why I love their website so much. Not only are the articles diverse in topics and well written, their graphical illustrations that accompany many of their stories are worth a few minutes each day to look at. Peruse the graphics from an earlier story about the LHC and you can get a somewhat clear understanding of what they're doing in those tunnels in Switzerland in less than a couple of minutes.
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