European physics laboratory unveils ambitious plan for world’s largest particle collider

Europe's leading physics laboratory, CERN, has announced plans to construct a particle accelerator even larger than its renowned Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to continue probing the deepest secrets of the universe.

The new facility, named the Future Circular Collider (FCC), aims to build on the discoveries made by the LHC, including the groundbreaking detection of the Higgs boson, also known as the "God particle," Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media.

The FCC has not yet received political approval or funding, and even if greenlit, it would not begin operations until the 2040s, with completion expected towards the end of the century. The LHC, which is currently the world's most powerful particle accelerator, is expected to be decommissioned by the 2040s, and the FCC would take its place in continuing the search for answers to fundamental questions about the universe.

The LHC operates by smashing particles like protons or lead ions at incredible speeds using superconducting magnets in a 27-kilometer underground ring straddling the border between France and Switzerland. These collisions produce new particles, revealing unknown aspects of matter. In 2012, the LHC made headlines by confirming the existence of the Higgs boson, a key element of the standard model of particle physics.

CERN’s future collider would be more than three times larger than the LHC, spanning 91 kilometers and located under both France and Switzerland. This larger circumference would allow the collider to smash particles at eight times the energy of the LHC, offering greater sensitivity for detecting new and potentially unknown particles. The ambition is to uncover phenomena such as dark matter, dark energy, and antimatter, as well as better understand neutrinos, the elusive subatomic particles.

The project, estimated to cost around $17 billion, would unfold in two phases. The first, scheduled for 2046, involves an electron-positron collider to explore the physics of the Higgs boson. The second phase, beginning in 2070, will bring the proton-proton collider into operation, targeting a groundbreaking energy level of 100 trillion electronvolts—far surpassing the LHC's 13.6 trillion electronvolts.

The tunnel for the FCC will be 5.5 meters wide and run 100 meters underground beneath Lake Geneva, with sites planned across the French countryside. The collider will also require massive underground caverns, up to 66 meters in height, to house its particle detectors. Work on the project is scheduled to begin in 2033, with installation of scientific equipment starting in 2038.

By Vafa Guliyeva