The Standard Model of particle physics — a theory developed in the early s that describes the fundamental particles and their interactions — has precisely predicted a wide variety of phenomena and so far successfully explained almost all experimental results in particle physics..
But the Standard Model is incomplete. It leaves many questions open, which the LHC will help to answer. Scientists started thinking about the LHC in the early s, when the previous accelerator, the LEP , was not yet running.
They use detectors to analyse the myriad of particles produced by collisions in the accelerator. These experiments are run by collaborations of scientists from institutes all over the world. Each experiment is distinct, and characterized by its detectors. Over petabytes of data are permanently archived, on tape. The experimental collaborations are individual entities, funded independently from CERN. For Run 2, the estimated power consumption is GWh per year.
The total CERN energy consumption is 1. Higgs update 4 July. See LHC Milestones. The discovery of the Higgs boson was only the first chapter of the LHC story. Indeed, the restart of the machine this year marks the beginning of a new adventure, as it will operate at almost double the energy of its first run. The LHC is planned to run over the next 20 years, with several stops scheduled for upgrades and maintenance work.
Resources Faqs Facts and figures about lhc. Two LHC magnets are seen before they are connected together. If you would like to be involved in its development let us know. We're moving to ukri. Some links may take you there. If you can't find what you're looking for, try ukri. Learn about getting involved at CERN. Following an upgrade, the LHC now operates at an energy that is 7 times higher than any previous machine! The LHC allows scientists to reproduce the conditions that existed within a billionth of a second after the Big Bang by colliding beams of high-energy protons or ions at colossal speeds, close to the speed of light.
This was the moment, around During these first moments all the particles and forces that shape our Universe came into existence, defining what we now see. The LHC is exactly what its name suggests - a large collider of hadrons any particle made up of quarks. Particles are propelled in two beams going around the LHC to speeds of 11, circuits per seconds, guided by massive superconducting magnets! These two beams are then made to cross paths and some of the particles smash head on into one another.
However, the collider is only one of three essential parts of the LHC project. The other two are:. The LHC is truly global in scope because the LHC project is supported by an enormous international community of scientists and engineers. Working in multinational teams all over the world, they are building and testing equipment and software, participating in experiments and analysing data.
The UK has a major role in the project and has scientists and engineers working on all the main experiments. Prior to the Higgs' discovery, some scientists were hoping that the boson would end up being slightly different than what the Standard Model predicted, hinting at new physics.
But when the Higgs turned up, it was incredibly normal, exactly in the mass range where the Standard Model said it would be. While this is a great achievement for the Standard Model, it has left physicists without any good leads to go on. Some have begun to talk about the lost decades chasing down theories that sounded good on paper but seem not to correspond to actual observations. Many are hoping that the LHC's next data-taking runs will help clear up some of this mess. The LHC shut down in December to go through two years of upgrades and repairs.
When it comes back online, it will be able to smash atoms together with a slight increase in energy but at double the number of collisions per second. What it will find then is anybody's guess. There is already talk of an even more powerful particle accelerator to replace it, situated in the same area but four times the LHC's size. Adam Mann is a journalist specializing in astronomy and physics stories. He has a bachelor's degree in astrophysics from UC Berkeley. He lives in Oakland, California, where he enjoys riding his bike.
Live Science. Adam Mann.
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