There's a possibility that the Large Hadron Collider's ATLAS detector might be able to reveal extra dimensions. But for now the only thing it is able to unveil is the fact that it's facing a lawsuit right now. Fermilab and CERN's project has been put to a halt due to worries and fears by critics. Read more on this in the full article.

In the physical universe, we have time and space. These make up the four dimensions that we experience in our everyday lives. However, just because we can't experience it with the five sense we have doesn't mean they don't exist. String theory in theoretical physics suggests that there are as much as seven more dimensions in addition to timespace that we can't detect. Now, with the largest particle accelerator gearing up for operations later this year, scientists hope to detect these dimensions. Details in the full article.

After an earlier analysis of gamma ray emission from the black hole located in the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way, scientists have come to conclude that the emissions may be the product of dark matter decaying. But other scientists believe the constantly moving magnetic fields around the black hole can become a giant particle accelerator. And when particles collide in extreme speeds, it produces gamma rays.

Gamma-ray observatories have detected energetic gamma rays in the tens of Tera-electron volts (TeV) streaming from the center of the Milky Way outward. David Ballantyne from the University of Arizona led the study investigating on the possible particle acceleration scenario.

Results helped scientists conclude that protons could reach energies of 1000 TeV as they travel outward from the black hole, constantly gaining more and more velocity. This number is 100 times higher than the energies protons will be able to reach in the Large Hadron Collider (to be the world's largest particle accelerator) under construction in Geneva, Switzerland.

Now how about that? Our galaxy's biggest vacuum doubles as a super weapon. Sure beats the ring world Master Chief blew up, eh?

Well, either we've found the Higgs boson, or Fred's just put the kettle on

The Barrel Toroid, the world's largest superconducting electromagnet, has been set to full power last November 9. The magnet is built from eight 5 meter by 25 meter rectangular coils cooled to -269 degrees Celsius, and carries a current of 20,000 amps. The energy in its coils is equivalent to around 10,000 cars traveling at 70 kilometers per hour.

As part of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the magnet will be used to bend the paths of particles formed from the collision of protons or lead ions accelerated to near light speeds.

The LHC is the most powerful particle accelerator ever built and will be used to investigate why particles have mass. It will also be used to look into the nature of the as-yet undetected dark mass that's thought to make up all but four percent of the universe.

Researchers also hope to detect the Higgs Boson, a predicted subatomic particle that's supposed to have answers to life, the universe, and everything within three years. Ready your pan-galactic gargleblasters folks, we've got a whole lot of controlled sub-atomic collisions scheduled.

After decades of prominence as the "theory of everything," challengers say that String Theory is in trouble. Why? Because there haven't been much experiments to prove it and there don't seem to be any on the horizon. For decades, scientists have been looking for a "theory of everything" to unite the fundamental theories of physics: general relativity, electromagnetism, and quantum mechanics.

The problem is that general relativity remains distinctly divorced from the standard model of particle physics. The theory of the very very big, just can't seem to fit with the theory of the very very small.

Enter String theory. String theory in a broad sense envisions subatomic particles as strings and loops of vibrating energy rather than point-like particles of the standard model. The world is basically made up of "strings."

Detractors contend that aspects of string theory may turn out to be true, but most of the theory is built on elegant mathematics instead of empirical experiments. In particular, detractors charge that string theorists just fudged their models to explain away dark energy, a hypothetical energy that pulls galaxies away from one another at an accelerating rate.

John Schwartz of the California Institute of Technology, one of the fathers of modern string theory said that in the future, experiments will verify string theory. The issue is how much energy is needed for an experiment where you would have to pound into a collision of particles just to reveal strings.

Many physicists hope the Europe's Large Hadron Collider facility will offer some answers. Perhaps then, after they've pounded several particles into each other, they will find what they need.

It doesn't matter if you're a kid or a grown-up. It just so happens that you'll eventually see someone with a bigger, better toy than you, and you'll end up wanting to get something better than theirs.

Even amidst rational-minded scientists, the toys for these big boys can bring out the scientific equivalent of a mild tantrum.

In this case, the big toy in question is the Large Hadron Collider (or LHC), which is currently under construction at the CERN center in Geneva, Switzerland. By big toy, we mean BIG. The LHC is being built in a circular tunnel 50-175 meters underground (what with the energy being produced and all) and is 27 kilometers in circumference. The LHC would, at its completion, be the most powerful particle accelerator produced by mankind.

So what's the problem, and who's getting antsy over it?

In a nutshell, America's National Research Council wants their own big toy too, with a proposal given in April to have the government fund an International Linear Collider (ILC) on American soil. The council intends to trump the LHC with their proposed 30-kilometer (19 miles) particle accelerator. Bigger accelerator, better and more specific information on the nature and origins of the universe.

The potential cost? $12 Billion. Nice idea... but really bad timing.

Why they can't propose to spend this money on finishing the clean-up and welfare problems posed by last year's Hurricane Katrina, we may never know. They could always just share the gigantic accelerator, right?