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The LHC
This web page explores and describes the ground-breaking achievements of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The Large Hadron Collider is a multi-billion-dollar international scientific research project. It was constructed to model the conditions in the early universe approximately one second after the Big Bang. This early universe scenario can be modeled by colliding beams of intensely high energy particles (protons or ions) that travel near the speed of light. The advancement and creation of the LHC originated from the European Organization for Nuclear Research, CERN. This group’s primary goal was facilitated by the employment of physicists and engineers who actively seek answers about the fundamental structure of the universe and to study the subatomic particles that constitute matter. The following information on this website has been crafted to help you understand the components of the LHC, how the instrument functions during a beam circulation, and the topics of debate surrounding this scientific facility.
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Click here to learn more about the controversies surrounding the Large Hadron Collider!
Click on this picture to learn more about the Higgs boson elementary particle!
Understanding the Components
When studying an innovative creation such as the Large Hadron Collider, investigating the origin of its name can help shed a deeper light on its use and function.
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Large: The term ‘Large’ speaks to the instrument’s massive perimeter. At a circumference of 16.6 miles, the LHC is a subterranean circular tunnel, with depths ranging from 164 to 574 feet underground. The submersion of this instrument is necessary due to the natural shielding of rock that is provided and to also reduce the real-estate costs.
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Hadron: The term Hadron is derived from the nature and composition of the particles that the instrument manipulates. In the physical sciences, subatomic particles are particles which are smaller than atoms. Subatomic particles come in two classes, elementary particles, and composite particles. A hadron is a subatomic composite particle that is made of anti-quarks, gluons and quarks, which are the building blocks for matter. The most well-known hadrons are protons and neutrons. Protons and neutrons are composed of 3 quarks, and go under the baryon classification. When the Large Hadron Collider operates, it accelerates these hadrons (most frequently protons), in opposite directions. They are then manipulated to collide with each other at specific locations in the tunnels. This collision is but one step that supports the machine’s purpose of leading to the regeneration of the universal conditions, post-Big Bang.
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Collider: The title ‘collider’ refers to the action the particles inside the machine are intended to undergo. The particle accelerator has specific hadron particles or ions, moving at close to the speed of light. These particles within the machine move in a straight line unless acted on by an opposing force inside. In order to manipulate these particles in specific ways, such as in a circular motion for example, it does so by means of powerful superconducting magnets surrounding the pipes. With these magnet’s enacting forces, the hadron particle beam inside the machine can be made to collide with another hadron particle beam moving in the opposite direction. This instrument is an invaluable research tool for not only creating these post-Big Bang circumstances, but also is contributory for observing byproducts of these collisions, which aids in better understanding the elementary subatomic particles that are studied in these conditions.