A very cool story by Wi-Fi Planet's Gerry Blackwell looks at the way that CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is using Wi-Fi in its experiments to recreate the effects of the Big Bang.

CERN's huge underground facility is "riddled with Wi-Fi networks, an estimated 300 access points in all, most from Proxim Wireless," Blackwell writes. "Not only do the number of APs mean that interference is a major problem, but much of the scientific equipment also interferes. Which is why CERN's network gurus have turned to Wi-Fi mesh technology for a number of applications, including one mind-boggling maneuver during site construction."

Blackwell describes how mesh Wi-Fi was used to monitor the moving of a huge detector the size of a five-story building down a 100-meter shaft -- with the requirement that the detector couldn't be tilted or vibrated in any way.

"The mesh network equipment is still in constant use at CERN," Blackwell writes. "One network is closed and dedicated to the accelerator and the ATLAS detector. Another is publicly accessible. It takes six mesh APs and a few fixed APs to cover the entire 400-by-200-meter cavern. Scientists and others in the facility also use the mesh APs to create temporary networks - such as when they need to go into the walkways alongside the LHC tunnel."