Scientists celebrate after successfully smashing protons operating at 3.5 trillion electron volts (TeV) into each other creating an energy level of 7 TeVs in the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva. It was the highest energy level reached yet reached by CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. For more, read Larry Dignan's Smartplanet blog.
The purpose of the project is to to probe the nature of dark matter, antimatter, an elusive particle called the Higgs boson, and how they fit into the history of the universe.
The ultimate goal of the experiment is to crash protons with an energy level of 7 TeV each creating an energy level of 14 TeV.
Credit: Heinz Pernegger; Doris Burckhart