A historic attempt to recreate the Big Bang and prove an Edinburgh University scientist's long-discussed theory about how the universe works started successfully yesterday.
Scientists celebrated as the £5bn experiment started at the European Centre for Particle Physics (CERN) in Geneva.
It is aimed at proving the theory devised 44 years ago by physicist Professor Peter Higgs.
After the world's most powerful particle accelerator was switched on, he said he was "pretty confident" that it would find the Higgs boson which he believes holds the key to how the universe was created.
If proved right, the 79-year-old stands to win a Nobel prize.
Scientists will use the accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), to recreate the conditions after the Big Bang that created the universe by smashing two beams of particles into each other at near-light speed in a 27km long tunnel 100 metres underground near Geneva.
Scottish scientists and firms at the forefront of the design and construction of the particle accelerator were delighted as news emerged that the first beam of protons had been fired.
Glasgow University Emeritus Professor David Saxon said the device features a mosaic of tiles that can detect and measure with "micron accuracy 40 million times a second".
Forres-based Scotland Electronics (International) Ltd was among the businesses playing a key role, by supplying parts.
It is likely to be three years before it is known whether the Higgs boson has been found.
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