Take a electron beam and a positron beam. Drive them both within a pipe, each in a different direction and accelerate them until they nearly reach speed of light.
What happens? Collisions and the particles burst into a great number of new, microscopic particles. Watch and study them. This way progress concerning the structure of the matter of which or universe consists, can be made.
European Organization for Nuclear Research
In order to reach this world of microscopic particles, indescribably high efforts are necessary.
Near Meyrin, on one or the other side of the French-Swiss border, a tunnel in form of a ring was built in a depth of about 100 meters. The tunnel is 27 km long. It houses the world's largest particle and collision accelerator: the "LEP"
The LEP is the gem of the CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. A real city, where thousands of physicians, engineers and technologists work in order to exhaust the huge amount of experiments or knowledge concerning the technological application possibilities.
