Nihilists were disappointed after the first test of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)， a particle accelerator built in Switzerland， failed to bring the world to an end. A few scientists had warned that the device， which launches protons towards each other through a 27 km long tunnel at unimaginable speeds， might create a micro black hole which could sink through to the core of the earth， rapidly destroying it by absorbing all surrounding matter. Other theoretical fears included the creation of previously unknown particles with deadly effects， as well as the risk of dangerous radiation.

當大型強子對撞機（LHC——建于瑞士的一臺粒子加速器）的首次試驗并沒有將世界導向滅亡時，虛無主義者失望了。一些科學家警告說，這臺以難以想象的速度在一條長27千米的管道內(nèi)向相反方向發(fā)射質(zhì)子束的設(shè)備，可能會產(chǎn)生一個可以沉入到地球核心的微型黑洞，它會吞噬周圍物質(zhì)并迅速毀滅地球。其它理論上的擔憂包括之前產(chǎn)生的具有致命危害的不明微粒及危險放射物。

The vast majority of qualified scientists， however， dismissed these fears， as did the European Court of Human Rights， which summarily dismissed a request by one group to issue an injunction against the turning-on of the device. After some scientists even received death threats， Professor Brian Cox of Manchester University said \"Anyone who thinks the LHC will destroy the world is a twat.\"High energy collisions occur constantly in the atmosphere， without apocalyptic results.

然而，絕大多數(shù)資深科學家們認為這種擔憂沒有必要，同樣，歐洲人權(quán)法院立即駁回了一批人士提出的對該設(shè)備的啟動發(fā)出緊急禁令的申請。有些科學家甚至受到死亡威脅，曼切斯特大學的布賴恩#8226;考克斯教授說：“認為大型強子對撞機會毀滅地球的人都是愚蠢的?！贝髿鈱又胁粩嘤懈吣芘鲎?，卻沒有出現(xiàn)過預言中的毀滅性后果。

The LHC was built through the cooperation of hundreds of universities and thousands of scientists worldwide， coordinated through the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (known as CERN.) The LHC will be used for powerful experiments in particle physics， which previous particle accelerators were too small to carry out. Physicists hope to verify the existence of the theorised Higgs Boson， a subatomic particle predicted by the standard model of particle physics but never directly observed before. Studies may， however， take three years or more to complete.Rumours that a cartel of scientists plan to use the device to bet on proton races are currently unconfirmed.

LHC是由全世界上百所大學及上千位科學家通過歐洲核研究組織（CERN）共同合作建立。LHC將會用來做大型粒子物理學試驗，之前的粒子加速器都因太小而無法展開試驗。物理學家希望證實假定希格斯玻色子的存在，這是一種從未被直接發(fā)現(xiàn)的由粒子物理學標準模型推測出的次原子微粒。然而研究可能要用3年甚至更長的時間來完成。有傳言說一群科學家打算用這臺設(shè)備舉行粒子速度賭賽，但傳言尚未被證實。