Large Hadron rap hits YouTube

by Dan Leahul, Brand Republic 10-Sep-08, 11:05

LONDON - Scientists at the Cern Large Hadron Collider have taken time out from conducting colossal experiments that delve into the deepest, darkest secrets of the universe and strike fear into the heart of the average layman to produce a viral sensation with their YouTube video -- Large Hadron Rap.

The four-minute video, named after the £5bn science experiment, has received over one million YouTube hits and features a troupe of lab-coat clad scientists explaining the ins and outs of dark matter, Higgs Boson (the so called "God particle") and of course the star of the show, the Large Hadron Collider.

With an intro seemingly cameoed by Stephen Hawking himself, and dance moves that could have been swiped from the 'So You Think You Can Dance' blooper reel, the video lightens the mood around what is intended to be the most important scientific discovery in human history.

It also aims to put into terms the importance of the project for the average anti-intellectual with lyrics like:

"The LHC accelerates the protons and the lead.

"And the things that it discovers will rock you in the head.

"We see asteroids and planets galore.

"We know a black hole resides at each planets core."

The Large Hadron Collider was switched on today at 8.30 a.m. and scientists will be conducting experiments until the end of October, hoping to recreate the conditions of the Big Bang that happened 14bn years ago.

The switch on of the Large Hadron Collider at the Cern research centre in Switzerland has been dubbed a "doomsday device" by some who fear it could cause the end of the world as we know it.