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Large Hadron Collider at CERN

CERN, Meyrin
By Science Guide
10th October 2024
Physics Switzerland

The world’s largest particle physics research centre, CERN, is located near Geneva, partly in France and partly in Switzerland. The name is an acronym for ‘Conseil européen pour la recherche nucléaire’, the European Council for Nuclear Research, which was commissioned to found the organisation.

The European Organisation for Nuclear Research operates, among other things, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which, at around 27 kilometres long, is the longest particle accelerator in the world. New particles can be created by colliding particles that can be accelerated in the LHC to a speed close to the speed of light. These can be detected with the help of numerous detectors. From the results of the collisions, the researchers are able to gain insights into the smallest building blocks of the universe. The LHC was also the first to detect the Higgs boson, an elementary particle.

CERN website: https://home.cern

Photo: The LHC tunnel at CERN is being prepared for the installation of the ALICE experiment. Credits: CERN/Maximilien Brice.

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