Particle physicists strive to observe the trajectory of rare particles sized a billionth of a millimetre, having a life time of trillionth of second or less. For doing this, they use huge instruments weighing thousands of tons. They also have a tradition of building themselves their instrument! There are mainly two reasons for this: the first is that it usually consists of a prototype, a technology wonder that very few would dream of replicating as a whole, not even in its smaller version. The second has to do with something adventurers know very well: if you are likely to live, enjoy and suffer with your equipment during the adventure, you are better off designing it yourself and choosing the best partners to realize it with you. The “last mile” was bridged, marking the end of 20 years of effort for building the LHC. Now the journey for scientific discovery really can start.

Scientific endeavour is hard, long and complex, as is any pioneering adventure. Discovery comes at a price, after many hurdles and failures before reaching the final line. This day was truly a journey in the life of particle physicists: complex technology, outlook on science of the most intimate components of matter, intense collaboration and synchronous communication between different sites and hundreds of people, decisions to be taken at very short notice. This implies a fair amount of trust among the teams, decades of knowledge passed from one generation to the next, and being open about the outcomes: the essence of the “CERN-model” culture.

September 10th was truly the time to witness how this world wide community works, with its joys, its difficulties and its questions; and the opportunity to remember that nothing comes without continuity, vision, willingness, hard work, funding, enthusiasm, nor without a large collaboration in which every contribution counts. As Herwig Schopper, former director general, pointed out, for a relatively “old” research centre, CERN attracts a large number of young scientists from for all over the world: the best reward of all.

Marie-Christine Sawley, CMS Outreach - 11.09.08

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