The LHC – Large Hadron Collider. It is the world’s largest and fastest particle accelerator to study the behavior of nuclear particles. LHC was constructed by the European Organization but parts of the LHC were manufactured in several countries. This particle accelerator is designed to push the ions and protons to near the speed of light.  It consists of an approximately 27-kilometer-long ring that is present in about 100 meters of underground tunnel. The 27-kilometer underground tunnel is present between the border of France and Switzerland and it contains electromagnets that are made of superconductors. So let’s dig into the tunnel to know more about this giant machine.

What makes LHC as a “Large Hadron Collider”?

Each world in the LHC is self-explanatory for its conduct. “Large” represents its enormous size which is approximately 27 kilometers in circumference. “Hadron” represents its acceleration ability to the protons or ions, which belongs to the group of particles known as hadrons. “Collider” represents the collision of ion particles inside the ring.

Why LHC has been made?

The LHC was built to find the unsolved questions of Particle Physics. Scientists have concluded the standard model of particle physics. However, this standard model does not solve some questions. The LHC provides collision between ions to generate the scenario of the Big Bang. By using LHC we are trying to get the answer to these questions:

Emanation of Mass:

The standard model does not explain the emanation of mass or weight differences in different atomic particles. Some of the particles are light-weight weighted whereas others are heavy. Three theorists Robert Brout, Peter Higgs, and Francois Englert made a proposal to solve this problem. They said that “A mass of particle formed when it comes under an energy field”. This field is named as “Higgs field” which protrudes to the universe. As per Higgs theory Particles that interact intensely with the Higgs field are heavy in weight, whereas others are present in feeble interaction show light weight. The particle associated with the Higgs field is known as Higgs Boson.

Matter and Antimatter:

In the beginning of the universe matter and antimatter must have been produced. But we have found that our Universe is made of matter only.

Dark Matter:

Dark matter is a component of the Universe. Its presence is considered from its gravitation attraction rather than its glance. The matter that we know is made of the 4% of the content of the universe. The remaining portion search is still open for particles or phenomena, this is our dark matter.

How does the LHC work?

LHC accelerates the proton particles and makes collisions between them. When a collision happens protons get scattered into small particles. In LHC two protons are placed at 10 Km distance and accelerated and aligned by electromagnets. The acceleration speed of these protons is near to Speed of light. They are aligned in this way to collide in the middle of the distance. This is not an easy task. The accelerated particles are invisible; scientists can study the behavior only by the track they leave. This collision generates several small particles that become helpful in the study of the formation of the Universe. The one big problem that was present in the collision of the protons is that they are similarly charged particles. As we know similarly charged particles repel each other. This problem is solved by the resonators of LHC. Einstein’s theory of relativity says that, if you keep accelerating things near the speed of light instead of going faster we will just get heavier. As they get more massive we need more force. As a consequence, this proton charge becomes less effective as it gets more massive. That’s how LHC handles this issue.

You can see the detailed info and working process of LHC that is officially present on the CERN website.

Thanks for reading. See you soon with another exploration!