Most of the world’s nuclear research is conducted at CERN. The EU organization consists of 50% of the world’s particle Physicists. The highly skilled team heavily relies on the biggest particle generating machine on earth called the Hadron Collider (LHC).
The machine works to recreate the environment that was there during creation. The LHC idea that’s designed around the big bang theory works in an amazing way.
Scientists believe the earth was created out of a massive explosion. The blow up released particles that formed most of the things that exists in universe.
The particle physicists in CERN have created two proton beams that shatter after rotating inside the LHC for 17miles. Once they break, the conditions that were there during creation come about. This is an innovation that recreates atomic events.
The LHC
According to cnet.com, it cost about $4.8 billion to build the LHC. The construction took a decade spanning between 1998 and 2008.
It is believed 99+ countries, thousands of scientists, and 99+ institutions were involved in the construction of the LHC. Located at the border between France and one of the world’s richest countries, Switzerland, the collider has a 17-mile circumference.
The tunnel is 174m deep and had the first successful collision happen in 2010, just two years after completion. The explosion broke the previous record and would later be made two times more intense.
A decade after its completion, the masterpiece was closed. A maintenance process had to be conducted and that would not take less than two years.
One would wonder what the purpose of the collider is. Why would physicists spend billions and several years creating such a thing? Well, it is a predictor of potential particle formations and is being used to justify most theories brought forward by scientists.
Besides, the collider helps us understand physics and focuses on the nuclear subject. The machine is a source of reliable information Physicists need to conduct nuclear research. That is why the place area hosting the LHC is also home to thousands of Physicists.
LHC Performance
In 2009, there were 284 explosions that were reported towards the end of that year. The results were massive, exceeding their expectations. The hadron produced went beyond the scientists’ projections.
At that period, data collection and experiments were the focus of the operators. Sooner than later, these researchers began publishing their findings. It was a great moment in Physics as this was the beginning of a potentially successful Scientific journey.
By then, endless theories continued to be fronted. Proving them right or wrong was hard, and now the LHC was making progress towards providing atomic facts that could confirm or dismiss these claims. As at 2010, there was no full proof to confirm some of these theories.
One of the focus was the presence of Higgs boson in these explosions. Well, Higgs boson is one field that gives mass to matter. This energy gives particles the ability to resist, accelerate, and or change position. The 2010 explosion didn’t have sufficient Higgs boson.
The report provided the following year suggested this mass giving field appeared in the explosion. But not all parameters were met for the scientists to make a conclusion about this matter. Therefore, investigations continued.
As more research was done, it was noted that the LHC improved in its effectiveness with latter explosions. By 2016, the teams had gathered big data, not recorded before. The following year saw improved analyses done. The latest experiment was conducted in March 2021 and the results looked more promising.
Hardon Collider Upgrades
As time went by, Physicists realized that they were moving to more conclusive results. But there’s an irony to it. Experts advise that the particles found after explosions diminish as years pass by. That means explosions collected a decade ago will not be as conclusive as those collected today.
The first thought would be to encourage the operators to produce more recent explosions. That way perhaps more recent particles would be at their disposal and they wouldn’t have to provide diminished details.
Well, experts advise otherwise. Rather, using more advanced detectors would be more productive. That means the LHC detectors should be upgraded.
Not only those, even the devices used in collision should be upgraded. Luminosity should also be worked on and that way the Hardon collider will be more effective. With time, all these improvements will be done as the Physicists keep researching.
Health Hazards
The explosions produced by LHC have raised many concerns. It is obvious for health experts to be worried as they had not confirmed the magnitude of danger posed by the nuclear generated during the explosions.
To that effect, investigations were initiated to establish any threats posed by these explosions. Well, it was found out that these particles are not harmful to the human race.
The American Physical Society did well to confirm these findings were correct. But you do not expect the concerns to end there. More bodies and activists will raise their complains once they get a chance.
EU and CERN will be quick to ensure that any false allegations are met with proof of zero health hazards. Besides, they continue to comply with the required guidelines they are supposed to. That way, they will easily counter alarmists out to create something out of nothing.
According to reliable sources, CERN reported that the collisions are natural occurrences. They went ahead to claim similar explosions are produced by the world and nothing adverse to our health happens. There were more details about this and that is why the report was accepted by the American Physical Society.
Bottom Line
The LHC has now been around for more than two decades. During this time, the big machine has been the backbone of nuclear research and provides data to majority of the world’s Physicists. With every explosion comes out billions of atoms that advise these researchers about nuclear science. The best thing about these explosions is the fact that no tragedies have been registered so far. And we hope none will ever be.
