The CERN
and the LHC
CERN is the Conseil European pour la Researche Nucleaire (the European
Organization for Nuclear Research) and is located in Geneva,
Switzerland. Scientists there study fundamental physics using
particle accelerators and detectors. Detectors record the
collisions that occur within the accelerators. These collisions
give clues to the origins of the most basic particles that make up
everything in the universe.
Dan Brown accurately reported that the LHC, the Larger Hadron Collider,
is 27 kilometers long and crosses the border between Switzerland and
France. It is buried 100 meters underground and used to
accelerate beams of particles to very high speeds and then collide them
to replicate conditions of the Big Bang. Hadrons are the name
given to the subatomic particles, either protons or lead ions, that are
collided in the LHC. The LHC is composed of two vacuum tubes and
thousands of magnets. The magnets have to be in a
"superconducting state" for them to conduct electricity 100%
efficiently, without losing any energy (CERN, How the LHC Works
2008). Helium allows the
magnets' temperatures to reach -271 degrees C.
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