SWITZERLAND-SCIENCE-PARTICLE-EUROPE-CERN

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY MARIETTE LE ROUX A picture taken on February 10, 2015 in Meyrin, near Geneva, shows the Synchrocyclotron at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN). The 600 MeV Synchrocyclotron (SC), built in 1957, was CERNs first accelerator. It provided beams for CERNs first experiments in particle and nuclear physics. In 1964, this machine started to concentrate on nuclear physics alone, leaving particle physics to the newer and more powerful Proton Synchrotron. In 1967, it started supplying beams for a dedicated radioactive-ion-beam facility called Isolde, which still carries out research ranging from pure nuclear physics to astrophysics and medical physics. In 1990, Isolde was transferred to the Proton Synchrotron Booster, and the SC closed down after 33 years of service. AFP PHOTO / RICHARD JUILLIART (Photo credit should read Richard Juilliart/AFP via Getty Images)