End of the world...or a brave new one?

Well yesterday saw the much celebrated first test of the Hadron Collider ..and we are all still here.
That's a relief :)
If you are not aware of this new scientific toy (costing around $Au 11 billion) perhaps you slept well last night.
Located at the French/Swiss border, it is the largest particle accelerator ever built and should be able to move atomic particles at 99.9999991% the speed of light...impressive eh?
The concerns over it operation relate to, amongst other things, the spawning of mini black holes that could swallow the earth.
As only basic operational tests have been performed we are still yet to feel the ramifications, scientific or otherwise, of this mammoth undertaking.

Why blog this info on a nature site?
Because the very nature of the very universe could be unlocked

It is possible, from one of the particle detectors that record the microscopic collisions, that 100,000 CDs per second of information could be recorded.

It seems small things amuse large minds.

If you wish to know more, check out this link.
I found some interesting facts on the make up and size of the accelerator...as well as the photo I used. :)