Deep underneath the Alps, on the Swiss-French border, something significant just happened in the world of physics. The Large Hadron Collider, Earth’s most powerful particle accelerator, was restarted on Friday morning after a three-year hiatus for upgrades.
Highlights
- The Large Hadron Collider was restarted on Friday morning after a three-year hiatus for upgrades.
- It works by smashing tiny particles together to allow scientists to observe them, and to see what’s inside.
- Back in 2011 the collider helped scientists prove the existence of an subatomic particle called the Higgs boson.
- Scientists will also focus experiments that they hope will increase their knowledge of cosmic ray showers – which occur when tiny particles from space come into contact with the atmosphere and then “shower” down to earth.
- The machine is made of superconducting magnets chilled to ‑271.3°C (-456 F) - which is colder than outer space.