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| First collisions in Cern collider | First collisions in Cern collider |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Engineers operating the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have smashed together proton beams in the machine for the very first time. | |
| The step was described as a "great achievement" for those working on the huge physics experiment. | The step was described as a "great achievement" for those working on the huge physics experiment. |
| The low-energy collisions came as researchers circulated two beams simultaneously in the LHC's 27km-long tunnel earlier on Monday. | The low-energy collisions came as researchers circulated two beams simultaneously in the LHC's 27km-long tunnel earlier on Monday. |
| The LHC will smash together beams of protons to shed light on the cosmos. | The LHC will smash together beams of protons to shed light on the cosmos. |
| Researchers working on the collider have said they are delighted with the quick progress made since the machine restarted on Friday. | Researchers working on the collider have said they are delighted with the quick progress made since the machine restarted on Friday. |
| Operated by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (Cern), the LHC is the world's largest machine and will create similar conditions to those which were present moments after the Big Bang. | Operated by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (Cern), the LHC is the world's largest machine and will create similar conditions to those which were present moments after the Big Bang. |
| "It's a great achievement to have come this far in so short a time," said Cern's director general Rolf Heuer. | "It's a great achievement to have come this far in so short a time," said Cern's director general Rolf Heuer. |
| "But we need to keep a sense of perspective - there's still much to do before we can start the LHC physics programme." | "But we need to keep a sense of perspective - there's still much to do before we can start the LHC physics programme." |
| Housed in a tunnel 100m beneath the Franco-Swiss border, the LHC uses some 1,200 "superconducting" magnets to bend proton beams in opposite directions around the tunnel at close to the speed of light. | Housed in a tunnel 100m beneath the Franco-Swiss border, the LHC uses some 1,200 "superconducting" magnets to bend proton beams in opposite directions around the tunnel at close to the speed of light. |
| At allotted points around the "ring", the proton beams cross paths, smashing into one another with enormous energy. | At allotted points around the "ring", the proton beams cross paths, smashing into one another with enormous energy. |
| Large "detector" machines located at these crossing points will scour the wreckage of these collisions for discoveries that could roll back the frontiers of knowledge. | Large "detector" machines located at these crossing points will scour the wreckage of these collisions for discoveries that could roll back the frontiers of knowledge. |
| The four main detectors at the LHC are: Atlas, the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS), Alice and LHCb. Atlas and CMS are so-called multi-purpose detectors, while Alice and LHCb are designed with more specific experiments in mind. | The four main detectors at the LHC are: Atlas, the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS), Alice and LHCb. Atlas and CMS are so-called multi-purpose detectors, while Alice and LHCb are designed with more specific experiments in mind. |
| Cern's director of communications said the first collisions had taken place after 1300 GMT on Monday, during a news conference to discuss progress following the machine's restart. | |
| "We didn't have time to analyse them then. We waited until all four of the (detectors) had seen good candidates (for collisions)," he told BBC News. | "We didn't have time to analyse them then. We waited until all four of the (detectors) had seen good candidates (for collisions)," he told BBC News. |
| Scientists will search for signs of the Higgs boson, a sub-atomic particle that is crucial to our current understanding of physics. Although it is predicted to exist, scientists have not yet detected it. | Scientists will search for signs of the Higgs boson, a sub-atomic particle that is crucial to our current understanding of physics. Although it is predicted to exist, scientists have not yet detected it. |
| Paul.Rincon-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk | Paul.Rincon-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk |