CERN, Nuclear research institute in Saint-Genis-Pouilly, Switzerland and France
The European Organization for Nuclear Research operates this complex of laboratories, offices and underground facilities right on the border between Switzerland and France. Most of the equipment sits in a 27-kilometer circular tunnel that runs deep below the surface.
In 1954 twelve countries founded the laboratory to study the fundamental properties of matter together. Over the following decades new members expanded the organization and larger accelerators replaced older facilities.
Researchers from many countries move through the corridors here, speaking different languages and discussing experiments about the smallest building blocks of matter. In the conference rooms and cafeterias you can see international teams working together and sharing ideas every day.
Visitors can join organized tours that provide insight into the research work, though advance booking is required. The exhibitions and visitor centers are easier to access and display models and interactive panels.
A researcher developed the system here in the late 1980s that later became the World Wide Web, changing how people everywhere share information. The invention came from the practical need to exchange scientific data between different computers.
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