Physics Set For Monster Revolution In Discovery Of Extra Dimensions

Physics could be turned on its head by a monster machine that can make black holes and may provide the first real evidence that extra dimensions exist. Scientists have no idea what they will find when the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) starts smashing elementary particles together next year at energies never reached before. One possibility is that it will create Higgs particles, which some theorists think may be involved in giving objects mass. It might also verify Professor Stephen Hawking's theory that black holes "evaporate" over time, or produce mysterious "dark matter". But physicists are most excited about the prospect of finding the "fingerprints" of other dimensions. If that happened, it would lead to the biggest upheaval in physics since an apple bounced off Sir Isaac Newton's head and got him wondering about gravity.