DAN BROWN's novel Angels and Demons begins with the big bold word "FACT". It continues: "The world's largest scientific research facility - Switzerland's Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (CERN) - recently succeeded in producing the first particles of antimatter." That much is true: CERN really does exist. It is the European laboratory for particle physics near Geneva, and it really does make antimatter. The story is about a plot to destroy the Vatican using antimatter stolen from CERN. And much of what follows is pure fiction.
That CERN exists at all probably came as news to a lot of Brown's readers, many of whom have subsequently taken the time to find out what this mysterious place really is. What they have discovered is that while much of the science in the book is pure invention, the real science is every bit as fascinating.
When Angels and Demons first appeared ...
18:00 23 July 2008
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