During 8 years of operation of the LEP accelerator in Geneva, the properties of the Z boson have been measured with extreme precision.

The structure of the Standard Model of elementary particles and their interactions has been verified. Furthermore, quantum tunnel effects make these precise measurements sensitive to the existence and mass of yet unknown particles – in particular the mysterious Higgs boson.

Real perturbations, induced on the 27-km long accelerator by the moon, the trains and the sun make sure that physicists remain on planet earth.