Large Hadron Collider Kicking Into High Gear Soon
Within the next week, the Large Hadron Collider – which was used to discover the Higgs boson in 2012 – will start back up following a two-year break. The collider, which features 17-mile-long underground tunnel running between France and Switzerland, was closed down in February 2013 so a team of engineers could begin upgrades. Physicists will now begin restarting the scientific machine to conduct a new series of experiments within physics.
According to a recent report, the Large Hadron Collider has already completed “run one”, which involved the experiments that have already taken place. Engineers have spent the past few years upgrading the magnets and data sensors within the machine. “Run two” will begin within the next week. Physicists will be crashing particles together with twice as much energy as previous experiments.
The more powerful collisions should allow scientists to discover new particles, plus look closely at the Higgs boson and how it behaves under different conditions. Physicists are hoping to create an even larger accelerator in the future, including a proposed 20-mile-long machine known as the International Linear Collider.
