Research scientists working at the world’s largest particle accelerator have proposed building an even larger collider in a bid to discover new particles capable of revolutionizing atomic physics and enhancing physicists’ understanding of the universe.
The new collider, named the Future Circular Collider, is three times larger than the current Large Hadron Collider, but its construction cost of $21 billion has sparked numerous criticisms, with some describing the move as “reckless.”
While the major achievement of the Large Hadron Collider was the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012, efforts to understand dark matter and dark energy through the collider have proven unsuccessful. Therefore, the proposed Future Circular Collider aims to address this challenge by providing more powerful and capable tools.
The proposed collider’s plan consists of two phases: the first, operating the collider approximately 20 years from now, will focus on colliding electrons to study the Higgs boson in more detail. The second phase, commencing in the current century’s 2070s, aims to search for new particles using more advanced magnets and heavier protons.
With a circumference of about 91 kilometers and located at twice the depth of the current Large Hadron Collider to prevent strong radiation from reaching the surface, the need for a larger collider is highlighted by the current collider’s inability to find any particles constituting 95% of the universe, namely dark energy and dark matter. Discovery of these new particles would mark a revolutionary leap in the field of physics.
Critics point out that there are no guarantees of the mission’s success, and some suggest that the huge allocation for the project could address more pressing global issues, such as climate change.
The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) is seeking approval from its seventy member countries, which will bear the cost burdens for building the Future Circular Collider.
