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CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research, originally an acronym for Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire) is the organization that developed and operates the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). CERN was organized in 1954 and has been operating particle accelerators since, a number currently active. Organization members have been European countries, currently over twenty, but membership is open to other willing contributors. United States, has "observer" status and also has (like numerous other countries) an international co-operation agreement.
CERN also has the distinction of being the organization where the technology behind the World Wide Web was conceived and developed, initially a mechanism for convenient access to documentation.
By far, CERN's most significant current work is the LHC, and often the term CERN is used specifically meaning the LHC.