It is hoped that the massive machine that will replace the existing one will be approved for building to start in the 2040s, even though it has not been able to uncover more information about dark energy in the universe.
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), located in a 17-mile tunnel under the earth close to Geneva, Switzerland, is thought to be replaced by the massive Future Circular Collider (FCC), although the £17 billion cost of the new machine is a source of concern.
After starting operations in 2008, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) achieved its first collisions of high-energy particles in 2010 and has undergone several improvements recently.
Subatomic particles are accelerated to nearly the speed of light and then collide with one another.
The discovery of the Higgs boson, dubbed the “God particle,” by the LHC allowed scientists to get a better understanding of the mass-production process of matter.
It still hasn’t been able to unlock the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, two little-known particles and forces that could provide scientists a deeper knowledge of the cosmos.
The UK is one of the member countries of CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, which is conducting the FCC study. All of the member states are currently assessing the new ideas, which are part of the study.
Construction on the more than 56-mile-circumference FCC, which would start in the 2040s, is intended to “push the energy and intensity frontiers of particle colliders” with participation from international universities and specialists.
“It is a tool that will allow humanity to make enormous steps forward in answering questions in fundamental physics about our knowledge of the universe,” Professor Fabiola Gianotti, director general of CERN, said in an interview with BBC News.
“And to do that, we need a more powerful instrument.”
