Birth of the universe 're-created': Large Hadron Collider generates 'mini Big Bang'





Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider have created a ‘mini Big Bang’ in an experiment that mimicked conditions a millionth of a second after the birth of the universe.

By colliding lead ions – atoms of lead stripped of their electrons – at close to the speed of light, researchers generated temperatures a million times hotter than the centre of the sun.

The explosions were so powerful they created a hot dense ‘soup’ of sub-atomic particles last seen just after the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago.

British scientists working at the collider near Geneva stressed that the experiments were completely safe and opened up a new era in particle physics.

Dr David Evans, from the University of Birmingham, said: ‘We are thrilled.

‘The collisions generated mini Big Bangs and the highest temperatures and densities ever achieved in an experiment.

‘This process took place in a safe, controlled environment generating incredibly hot and dense sub-atomic fireballs with temperatures of over 10 trillion degrees. At these temperatures even protons and neutrons, which make up the nuclei of atoms, melt.’

The particle collider is housed in a circular tunnel that runs for 17 miles below the French-Swiss border and is run by Cern, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research.

It was officially launched to an international fanfare two years ago – but was then forced to shut down less than a fortnight later after a fault.

It is designed to investigate conditions just after the universe’s creation and identify mysterious particles that will fill glaring gaps in our knowledge of physics.

Until now the collider has been smashing together protons – positively charged particles found in the nuclei of atoms.

But on Sunday it began to collide lead ions in an attempt to learn about the ‘quark-gluon plasma’ that filled the universe just after the Big Bang.

Dr Evans added: ‘I’m now looking forward to studying a tiny piece of what the universe was made of just a millionth of a second after the Big Bang.’