CERN: HADRON SUPER COLLIDER
Visit the Atom Smasher Tunnel in Geneva
It's official - God is in Geneva. At least His particle. Scientists have discovered
the shadow of the Higgs Boson particle, the superglue of the universe in
the smashing of sub-atomic protons in the supercollider circle through
the Switzerland and France countryside. The CERN Large Hadron
Super Conducting Super Collider in Geneva - was featured in the movie - Angels & Demons, creating the still fictional anti-matter -
but has now added to the vision of the theoretical universe with the Higgs
Boson evidence. Now, we have yet to see if they create a black hole which
will swallow the
earth as the Hadron Super Collider looks ever deeper into the creation
processes of the “big
bang”. But the Hadron is only the most
recent project at the CERN laboratory.
CERN,
which stands for the the European Organization for Nuclear Research was first established
in in 1954 as a joint European research center,
located just north of Geneva in the suburb of Meyrin on the Swiss-French
border. The Large Hadron Super Collider which makes a 2 kilometer diameter
circle through the Switzerland and France countryside in a tunnel about 100 meters underground is only
the most recent addition to a series of particle accelerators at the
CERN Laboratory. It's a huge facility, rather like a large collegiate campus. CERN is also
where the World Wide Web was born twenty-five years ago. On March 13, 1989 physicist
Tim Berners-Lee handed a paper to his supervisor Mike Sendall entitled "Information
Management : a Proposal". From that, an interconnecting of world
wide computers for research communication, came your ability to read
this story.
CERN TOURS
CERN
offers a number of possibilities for visiting the facility. Individual
tours or group
tours of the facility can be arranged dependent on what projects are underway. Lectures and presentations are
regularly given in the CERN’s iconic Globe of Science and Innovation,
constructed as a venue for film showings, conferences, exhibitions and
debates. Around the Globe, which is made of wood but has rather the
look
of a rusted golf ball stuck in the Earth in the light of day, but glows
with
ethereal
energy when
the sun goes down, is a replica of the Hadron tunnel and the departure
point
for tours of the site. It is suggested that tours are arranged a month
or two in advance. Tours are of various themes,
starting with an introductory presentation on CERN, followed by a film,
and a visit to one of the experiments or to one of the above ground smaller
accelerators. Tour itineraries depend on availability of the areas on
the day of the tour. Tours are not allowed down into the actual Hadron
Collider underground tunnels while it is in operation.
Visiting the CERN Super Collider
While tours are in advance, for spur of the moment visits to CERN, a museum space called the Microcosm is located in the reception visitor center, with multimedia exhibits of science and developments and experiments at the CERN Laboratory. The museum and reception is open from 8:15 to 5:45 Monday to Friday and 8:30 to 5pm on Saturday. The Microcosm is closed from 12-2. The Globe is only open after 2pm. Tours and museum admission are free.
The CERN Laboratory campus is a twenty minute tram and bus ride from the Geneva main Cornavin train station. Take tram line 14 or 16 from the west side of the station to the end of the tram line and change to bus 56, which stops at the CERN reception building 33. Cost is 3 Swiss Francs. From the airport, take the bus number 28 from outside the airport to the Hôpital-La Tour stop in Meyrin, then the 56 bus. The International Airport of Geneva offers arriving passengers a free "Tout Geneve" ticket, which is good for public transport in the city of Geneva on the day of your arrival only, and must be accompanied by your boarding pass. Get it from the automatic ticket machine in the baggage reclaim area. By car, you can’t miss the Globe on the main road between the airport and the French border, the facility entrance on the other side of the road. © Bargain Travel Europe
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Visiting
Cern
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SEE ALSO:
SWISS
RAIL PASS
PATEK
PHILIPPE MUSEUM
EDELWEISS RESTAURANT & HOTEL GENEVA
MARTIN
BODMER FOUNDATION LIBRARY
