Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider, a 27-km long circular particle accelerator at CERN near Geneva, are excited:

"These beams will have the kinetic energy of an aircraft carrier slammed into the size of a zero on a 20p piece," Brian Cox of Manchester University told the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

"We are going to make mini Big Bangs.

"There has never been such a jump in particle physics. It will go into an area that we don't really understand," he added.

What *exactly* are they trying to do?

They hope to create tiny black holes or find extra dimensions in the universe.

Isn't that dangerous?

They estimate the possibility of accidentally destroying the planet as extremely low.

Ah, okay then, if you say so! Link - via YesButNoButYes

Wait - that's no. 8 on LiveScience's Top 10 Ways to Destroy Earth!