Scientists send first beam

Sep 10 - Scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) have switched on the particle-smashing Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

The LHC is the largest and most complex machine ever made, aiming to re-enact the conditions of the "Big Bang", which scientists believe created the universe.

The 10 billion Swiss franc ($9 billion) machine's debut came as a blip on a screen in CERN's control room, with a particle beam the size of a human hair appearing in the tightly-sealed 27-km (17-mile) circular tunnel.

"We've got a beam on the LHC," project leader Lyn Evans told his colleagues, who burst into applause at the news.