Thanks Gaieus. Yes, I have just been lurking for a while, but someone asked for proof that people knew about the LHC, so I thought now might be the time to comment.

I have been into computers for some time and had to use them a fair amount at university (my project involved analysing 10GB of simulation data and I wasn't doing that by hand); I have also always had a bit of an interest in modelling (I used to do wargaming, but was mainly interested in converting the figures and making scenery), SU gave me a nice way to combine the two. As a big fan of automation I am also looking at Ruby, which I think I am starting to get the hang of.

Ross: I would still have been interested and would no doubt have read about it in Physics World, but it may have received less attention from the general media. I don't remember seeing that much about Fermilab over here, although I have a feeling there may have been something earlier in the year. Actually, in the scientific press I have read about Fermilab recently and I have to say that their financial situation is worrying, even more so that they are not alone.

First, the LHC is safe. The kind of reactions it is going to simulate happen throughout the universe and even regularly in our own atmosphere, if something terrible was going to happen it is reasonable to assume it would have happened in the last few Billion years. In comparison it is far more likely that a large, rogue asteroid will slam into the atmosphere and annihilate all life on Earth (something we would be powerless to stop, by the way).

Second, we may not know exactly what we are going to get from these experiments, but that does not mean they are not important. Without research into quantum physics and semiconductors we would not have the computers on which to have this discussion or, indeed, the vast majority of electronic devices today. Products from particle accelerators and nuclear reactors include isotopes used to treat cancer and the most important parts of smoke detectors and have therefore saved countless lives to date.

Computer development has also always been driven by scientific research; not just the high powered stuff (supercomputers are a key part of theoretical physics), but spin-offs, such as the web, which was invented at CERN as a way for scientists to share their data.

As long as the machine works, it does not matter what the results are, they will help us understand the universe better. Even failure can be useful, the Michelson-Morely experiment is one of the most famous scientific failures, but the importance of discovering that the theory of the ether (as in a fixed field the earth moved relative to, rather than the chemical compound) was the main reason Michelson was awarded the 1907 Nobel Prize. Any new information is useful, even if it shows that your theory is wrong.

Oh, and if you are worried that I just got everything from Wikipedia and New Scientist, then I should mention that my degree is in astrophysics and some of my friends are now working at CERN.