BUDDING scientists heard from the Swansea University graduate leading one of the planet's most mind-blowing experiments this morning.

A-Level physics students from Strade Comprehensive School in Llanelli were among hundreds of teenagers from 25 Welsh schools and colleges who linked up via video conference with Aberdare-born Lyn Evans, who is leading the large hadron collider (LHC) project near Geneva, Switzerland.

The underground collider, which is the world's most powerful man-made particle accelerator, is designed to smash protons and anti-protons to produce new particles. It aims to recreate the conditions that existed billionths of a second after the Big Bang, when our universe came into being.

Dr Evans, who graduated from Swansea University in 1969, talked about his work and took part in a question and answer session with the students.

Yesterday, one of the LHC project directors, Steve Myers, revealed the multi-billion pound machine would close at the end of 2011 for up to a year to address design and safety issues.

It only restarted at the end of 2009 after being out of action for 14 months following an accident in September 2008.

But Dr Myers added that the LHC was a prototype that was pushing new boundaries.

He said: "You don't hear about the thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of other areas that have gone incredibly well."

This morning's video conference was organised by the Welsh Video Network.

Speaking before today's event, the network's learning and development co-ordinator, Alison Walker, said: "This is a great opportunity for A-Level students to gain first-hand knowledge about one of modern science's most exciting projects, and we're delighted Dr Evans is taking part."

More video network events are planned, including a Swansea University one about living with natural hazards and disasters.

WEBLINK: http://www.wvn.ac.uk/