particle accelerator

(Newser) - A particle smasher in Switzerland could suck up Earth and possibly the whole universe, a US lawsuit claims. The suit warns that the $8 billion Large Hadron Collider near Geneva could spark a matter-sucking black hole or a "strangelet" that turns our planet into "strange matter." But...

(Newser) - More and more hospitals are using nuclear proton accelerators in the fight against cancer, with mixed results, reports the New York Times. Some experts say the massive devices, formerly only found in physics labs, are a vital next-generation tool. Others doubt their effectiveness and worry that hospitals are getting caught...

(Newser) - A parallel network to the commercial Internet has made another giant leap, increasing its already incredibly fast speed tenfold to 100 gigabits per second. That means Internet2—used by researchers, universities and some corporations—will be able to download a movie in a few seconds; the current 10 gig connections...

(Newser) - Sun Microsystems has a solution for the booming demand for network space, and as a bonus, it lowers energy use: packing servers into steel shipping containers that can be parked wherever they're needed. It's called Project Blackbox, and Sun says it reduces power consumption by 20%. The giant 20-foot boxes...