Large-scale accelerators are measuring devices for particle physicists. By the collision of highly energetic beams, a variety of particles is created which are not found in nature today. The enormous energy density provided by such colliders is used to artificially rebuild the conditions of the young universe shortly after the big bang. The interaction between theoretical prediction and experimental measurement led to a solid foundation of particle physics known as the ``Standard Model'' (SM).
The world's largest accelerator complex is located at CERN [2], which was founded after World War II to reunite Europe in the field of particle physics research and development. Even today, it is a political symbol of close collaboration between people from various nations, now including also non-European countries such as the USA, China or India. Only such an international cooperation allows to realize large-scale projects which a single nation could not afford.