Cern plans mega particle accelerators: Future of particle physics in focus!

Cern plans mega particle accelerators: Future of particle physics in focus!

The CERN, the European Laboratory Research Laboratory Research in Party Physics, is optimistic about planning a new mega particle accelerator. General Director Fabiola Gianotti emphasizes the crucial importance of investments in science, especially in times of geopolitical conflicts. In view of the current challenges, she sees the need to continue scientific progress in the future in order to gain new knowledge about matter. A current report by CERN contains a feasibility study with over 1,200 pages that presents a solid scenario for the planned Future Circular Collider (FCC). Independent bodies should also check this report before a final decision to build the system in 2028 is made. The FCC, which is to replace the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the 2040s, will be more than three times as large and installed in a tunnel that should run between Geneva and France at an average depth of 200 meters.

The FCC is designed as a proton proton collision accelerator, which is to achieve a previously unmatched seven-time higher collision energy compared to the LHC. In the first stage of expansion, an electron-positron collision accelerator is also planned, which could serve as a "Higgs factory" in order to examine the Higgs boson. Despite these promising approaches, there are critical voices that indicate the high energy consumption of the planned accelerator. According to reports, this consumption could correspond to that of a city with 700,000 inhabitants and thus be higher than the entire energy requirement of the canton of Geneva with its 500,000 inhabitants.

risks and challenges

The lifting of the 90 -kilometer tunnel would also generate a considerable amount of rock that would have to be stored. These challenges are in contrast to the fundamental questions that the particle physics strives to answer, such as the distribution of matter and energy in the universe. The discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 by the LHC represented significant progress and completed the standard model of particle physics. Nevertheless, there are still unexplained phenomena, including dark matter and dark energy that present the standard model for challenges.

The LHC, the largest particle accelerator in the world, is 27 km long and cost around 3 billion euros. Despite his success, he has been looking for new particles since 2010, but has so far been unsuccessful. Contradictory reactions in the professional world reflect the uncertainties of the future of particle physics. Some scientists are demanding patience, while others are aiming for the construction of new, larger accelerators like the FCC. Personifications such as Ingrid-Maria Gregor and Sabine Hossenfelder, two prominent voices in the discussion of particle physics, have different views regarding the direction of research.

The perspective of particle physics

Hossenfelder has set their research in particle physics and criticizes some of the established principles, especially the concept of naturalness. For them, the future of particle physics is uncertain, especially in view of the outstanding results of the LHC. On the other hand, Gregor remains optimistic and sees potential for future discoveries at the LHC. Other projects such as the International Linear Collider (ILC), which is also discussed with an estimated cost of 5 billion euros as a precise approach for the investigation of well -known particles, also attract interest, even if their financing is uncertain.

The development of particle physics since the 1960s shows that scientists like Joachim Mnich, director of CERN, work towards gaining understanding of the basic building blocks of matter, despite the hurdles and uncertainties that the path brings with it. The future projects, including the FCC, reflect the continued urge of scientists to expand the limits of knowledge about the universe and to find answers to the fundamental questions of life.

The discussion about particle physics remains exciting and will certainly continue to take a central place in the scientific debate in the future. The perspective on new discoveries remains, but patience and critical consideration of the approaches are essential.

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