Scientists smash atoms in record bid to grasp the Big Bang

SCIENTISTS smashed sub-atomic particles into each other with record energy yesterday, aiming to recreate conditions just after the Big Bang that gave rise to the universe 13.7 billion years ago.

The experiment at the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN) drew applause from the 80 scientists in the tracking room at the sprawling research complex on the French-Swiss border.

“It just shows what we can do in pushing knowledge forward on where we came from, how the early universe evolved,” CERN director general Rolf Heuer said.