The world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator will collide protons on April 8 to search for invisible particles that secretly fuel our universe.
Theories have suggested that there are 17 different groups of particles and the The European Organization for Nuclear Research, better known as CERN, confirmed the existence of one using its Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in 2012.
Now, the team has restarted the LHC after a two-year hibernation in hopes of unraveling something more mysterious, specifically dark matter.
Scientists began preliminary tests by sending billions of protons around the LHC’s ring of superconducting magnets to boost their energy and ensure the $4 billion machine was fit for purpose.
And then month, CERN will shoot them down a 17-mile-long tunnel at nearly the speed of light to recreate conditions one second after the Big Bang.
The European Organization for Nuclear Research, better known as CERN, announced it restarted the underground Large Hadron Collider (LHC) this month, sending beams of protons around the massive circular machine.
The LHC will continue the experiment until the end of this year, when it will be put into a long hibernation for CERN to transform it into the next version: the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC).
The LHC is located 300 feet underground on the border of France and Switzerland and first became operational on September 10, 2008.
The LHC works by breaking protons apart and discovering the subatomic particles that exist inside them and how they interact.
CERN researchers use protons because they are heavier particles.
The weight allows for much less energy loss per revolution through the accelerator than other particles such as photons.
Scientists fired up the powerful machine this month, injecting it with several beams of protons.
The team is now preparing to send the rays down the 17-mile-long tunnel near the speed of light in hopes of unraveling the mysteries of our universe.
On March 8, teams from around the world waited inside the underground laboratory to catch a glimpse of the rays spinning inside the LHC ring.
The circular shape was designed as it allows more time to accelerate the particle beam in order to achieve higher energy.
But the first attempt this month did not go as planned after the beam only managed to partially rotate.
But this month’s experiments showed that the beam’s path was wrong, and it came full circle.
But after experimenting with the mechanics, the team watched in amazement as the beam circled the accelerator in less than 20 minutes.
At full power, trillions of protons will race around the LHC’s accelerator ring 11,245 times per second and travel just seven miles per hour less than the speed of light.
On April 8, the team will send the rays through the tunnel where they will collide.
The team will search for dark matter, which makes up about 28 percent of our enormous universe, but has never been seen or tested.
This work will provide you with information about the formation of the universe and even its final destiny.
The experiment is scheduled to occur on the same day as the Great North American Solar Eclipse.
CERN uses protons because they are heavier particles, which have much lower energy per revolution through the accelerator. The purpose of the LHC is to test predictions from different particle physics, including measuring the properties of the Higgs boson or God particle (pictured)
Full sun occurs when the moon completely blocks the face of the sun, briefly obscuring the outside during the day.
The spectacle will be visible to some 32 million people along a narrow path through North and Central America.
It will be the first total solar eclipse seen in the US since August 2017.
The goal of the LHC is to allow scientists to test predictions from different particle physics.including measuring the properties of the Higgs boson or God particle, which was a missing piece of the puzzle for physicists trying to understand how the universe works.
Scientists believe that a fraction of a second after the Big Bang that gave rise to the universe, an invisible energy field, called the Higgs field, formed.
As the particles passed through the field, they gained mass, giving them size and shape, and allowing them to form the atoms that make up you, everything around you, and everything in the universe.
This was the theory proposed in 1964 by Professor Higgs, a former primary school student, which has now been confirmed.
And although the particles disintegrated almost instantly during the LHC experiment, scientists discovered that they left a trace that revealed their existence.
The LHC is normally used for only one month a year, but has been closed for long periods for upgrades; It was last turned off in 2022 amid Europe’s energy crisis.
Switching on the quasi-LHC is a complex process that requires everything to “work like an orchestra.”
Rende Steerenberg, in charge of CERN control room operations in Switzerland, said in 2022: “This is accompanied by a certain feeling of tension, nervousness,” he explained, adding that many things can go wrong, including obstructions in the tunnel and problems with magnets.’