A PROTON'S SHORT TRIP

When the Large Hadron Collider discovered the existence of the Higgs boson particle in 2012, it made headline news. What was lesser known: Rolex's participation.

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IT WAS A MILD AND PLEASANT morning when scientists gathered into the large beige room at CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research). All the computer screens had been switched on for what would be a momentous occasion in scientific, and arguably human, history. Finally, the command was given, buttons were pressed, and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) shot out a beam of protons. Several seconds later, the beam had successfully completed the full 27 kilometres of the particle accelerator. The clock on the wall read 10.28am, 10 September 2008.

Congratulatory messages from scientists around the world poured in. “As some might say: ‘One short trip for a proton, but one giant leap for mankind!” one witty message from Nigel Lockyer, the director for Canada’s particle accelerator centre, said. Indeed, in the many years since that first proton finished its journey, CERN and its LHC has been at the forefront of several scientific achievements, notably the discovery of the Higgs boson particle, which had been theorised for over 40 years but finally proven in 2012.