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D
eep underground, close to Lake
Geneva, at the Large Hadron
Collider (LHC) particle acceler-
ator of CERN, the European
Organization for Nuclear Research, huge
detectors sift through a stream of
subatomic particles and collect gigantic
volumes of data, which are analysed
using powerful algorithms. Modern tech-
nologies are making the tiny particles
that hold the cosmos together visible
on a larger scale.
The existence of matter
In 2012, a milestone in particle physics
was achieved with the discovery of the
Higgs boson particle. Scientists Robert
Brout, François Englert and Peter Higgs
had first predicted its existence back in
the 1960s. According to the Standard
Model of particle physics at the time,
there should strictly speaking be no mass.
Subatomic particles should move at the
speed of light. Yet, as previously stated,
they should be massless. The three
researchers nevertheless developed the
theory of the Higgs field. According to
this theory, the Higgs field slows down
the smallest particles – comparable with
beads flying through honey – giving them
inertia and therefore mass. 50 years
later, the big breakthrough finally came.
Protons were accelerated at virtually the
speed of light in the LHC to allow them to
collide. Higgs bosons broke free from the
Higgs field and it was thus possible to
(A) Impressive:
21 metres long, 15 metres in diameter
and weighing 12,500 tonnes – the CMS detector takes
up to 40 million measurements per second.
(B) Maximum performance:
the world’s biggest particle
accelerator is installed in a circular tunnel with a circum-
ference of 27 km. In the LHC accelerator ring, the protons
nearly reach the speed of light.
(C) Proof:
in 2012, the CERN particle accelerator
provided experimental proof of the Higgs boson.
The simulation shows the decay of a Higgs boson
using the CMS detector.
measure them and prove that they actu-
ally exist. And so the existence of matter
was proven. Higgs and Englert were awar-
ded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2013 for
their theory. Brout had died in 2011.
The biggest of its kind
The research conducted at CERN involves
scientific work with breathtaking dimen-
sions. Established in 1954, the research
organisation receives almost 1 billion
euros in funding every year from 22 mem-
ber states and currently employs more
than 2,500 scientists. Over 12,000 guest
scientists from all over the world work on
CERN experiments. The world’s largest
laboratory for particle physics operates a
network of several accelerators which
(A)
(B)
(C)
Photos: © CERN
2.2016
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