The LHC is the world's largest particle accelerator. It is at the centre of research into the Higgs boson, also known as the “God particle” because the field it produces gives atoms their mass.
Without the Higgs field, stars, planets and life would not ig phone number data have emerged. Understanding phenomena like these, as well as dark matter and black holes, is essential for scientists.
“This is a particle that has answered some questions and given us many more,” says Dr. Sarah Demers , a professor of physics at Yale University.
The accelerator facility, which runs 27 kilometers in diameter, emulates the conditions that existed fractions of a second after the Big Bang, the explosion that created the universe 13.7 billion years ago.
To make the observations, LHC scientists sent particles colliding at tremendous speeds to try to create the Higgs. Despite this discovery, there are still many unanswered questions.
Some of these questions include: Where did the universe come from? Why is it made of matter rather than antimatter? What is “dark matter”? How does the Higgs particle itself have mass?
In a press release , CERN wrote: “Finding the answers to these and other exciting questions will not only improve our understanding of the universe on the smallest scales, but may also help uncover some of the universe’s biggest mysteries.”
After more than three years of maintenance and upgrades, the machine will begin operations at a record power of 13.6 teraelectronvolts, and will last for nearly four years of uninterrupted operation.
“We are entering this race with more optimism that there could be a revolution,” said Dr. Mitesh Patel, a particle physicist at Imperial College London who runs experiments at CERN, “Fingers crossed.”
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