The Large Hadron Collider

The Large Hadron Collider is the world's largest and the most complex experimental facility ever built. It is the most powerful particle accelerator and the largest single machine in the world. European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) built the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). It took over 10,000 scientists, engineers, and technicians 10 years (1998-2008) to build. It is located in a tunnel 27 kilometers in circumference and as deep as 175 meters beneath France–Switzerland border near Geneva. It first started up on 10 September 2008, and its first research took place from March 2010 to early 2013 at an energy of 3.5 to 4 TeV (teraelectronvolt) per beam.

What is the main goal of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)?

The main goal of the LHC is to test the predictions of the various theories of particle physics. It allows us to reproduce the conditions right after the Big Bang. This was the moment when the Universe is believed to have started with an explosion of energy and matter. This allows us to solve most of the unsolved mysteries related to the universe.

What does the Large Hadron Collider do?

Scientists believe that there exists a theoretical particle smaller than an atom. This theoretical particle is called the Higgs boson. The Large Hadron Collider is 27 kilometers ring containing superconducting electromagnets through which subatomic particles are fired in opposite directions. Using strong magnetic field generated by superconducting electromagnets, they collide with each other at speeds close to the speed of light. ATLAS, ALICE, CMS, and LHCb- these are the detectors which are used to detect the outcomes of the particles colliding. In 2012, scientists confirmed the detection of the Higgs boson, also known as the "God particle". 

About “The God Particle”

The Higgs boson is the subatomic particle also known as the “God Particle”. It is so small that its discovery took 40 years. Francois Englert and Peter Higgs got Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of Higgs boson. The God particle is the particle that gives all matter its mass. Experiments proved that the God particle had a mass of 125 billion electron-volts, more than 130 times that of the proton. Scientists believe that the Higgs boson is the final missing piece of Standard Model of particle physics. 

Fascinating Facts about Large Hadron Collider (LHC):-

1.      Sergio Bertolucci, former Director for Research and Scientific Computing of the facility said that Large Hadron Collider could open doors to another dimension for mere fractions of a second.

2.      Large Hadron Collider (LHC) generates unbelievably high temperatures that are more than 100,000 times the center of the Sun. This is the main reason it is built underground.

3.      The LHC is kept at a super cool temperature of -271.3°C (1.9 K), using cryogenic distribution system which is even colder than outer space.

4.      An ultrahigh vacuum is generated in the beam pipes of the LHC.

5.      The LHC is composed of super magnets which are 100,000 times more powerful than the gravitational pull of Earth.

Written by:
Kanchan Ramteke

(World Trade Center Footage)