Big Plans for an Advanced Particle Accelerator to Explore the Dark Universe

In February, the council of CERN met to discuss the future of particle accelerators. Within the confines of CERN lies the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the most complex machine globally. The proposed successor to this colossal instrument is the Future Circular Collider (FCC), which is three times larger than the LHC. The LHC is an impressive 27-kilometer (16.77 miles) ring of superconducting magnets buried beneath Geneva, straddling the border of France and Switzerland. The LHC operates by propelling beams of protons or heavy ions at nearly the speed of light through two colossal tubes where they collide inside one of four experiments. These collisions generate conditions not seen since the early universe and produce various intriguing particles. The LHC’s most notable achievement was the discovery of the Higgs Boson, a particle that gives mass to other particles. However, the LHC has its limitations as it cannot reach certain energies. Therefore, the proposal for the FCC emerged to address these limitations. This new accelerator would be 90 kilometers (56 miles) long, twice as deep as the LHC, and potentially hold the capability to explore energies for evidence of dark matter and dark energy, which are beyond the capabilities of the LHC. This ambitious plan comes with a hefty price tag of 15 billion Swiss francs, roughly $17.2 billion. Critics argue that it is a risky venture as there are no guarantees of success in finding evidence of dark matter and dark energy, much like the initial doubts about the LHC and the discovery of the Higgs Boson. Despite the detractors, the LHC has made significant contributions to particle physics with almost 3,000 scientific papers being published from its experiments within the first decade of its operation. Additionally, critics have voiced concerns about the cost of the proposal, suggesting it could be viewed as an investment in the construction and manufacturing industries across all the countries involved in CERN. CERN, renowned as the birthplace of the World Wide Web, has greatly impacted the world, proving to be a valuable investment. Opponents also argue that the funds should be allocated towards environmental initiatives to address the climate crisis. However, this argument is refuted by the fact that the European Union, which includes many CERN members, allocated nearly 100 times the cost of the proposed plan to fossil fuel subsidies in 2022. Ultimately, the fate of the FCC project lies in the hands of the countries funding CERN. A feasibility study is set to be completed next year, and by 2028, a decision about the FCC’s future will be made.

Author: OpenAI