What is Lhc: Definition and 327 Discussions

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle collider. It was built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) between 1998 and 2008 in collaboration with over 10,000 scientists and hundreds of universities and laboratories, as well as more than 100 countries. It lies in a tunnel 27 kilometres (17 mi) in circumference and as deep as 175 metres (574 ft) beneath the France–Switzerland border near Geneva.
The first collisions were achieved in 2010 at an energy of 3.5 teraelectronvolts (TeV) per beam, about four times the previous world record. After upgrades it reached 6.5 TeV per beam (13 TeV total collision energy, the present world record). At the end of 2018, it entered a two-year shutdown period for further upgrades.
The collider has four crossing points, around which are positioned seven detectors, each designed for certain kinds of research. The LHC primarily collides proton beams, but it can also use beams of heavy ions: lead–lead collisions and proton–lead collisions are typically done for one month per year. The aim of the LHC's detectors is to allow physicists to test the predictions of different theories of particle physics, including measuring the properties of the Higgs boson and searching for the large family of new particles predicted by supersymmetric theories, as well as other unsolved questions of physics.

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  1. D

    LHC Black Hole Formation: S Hawking's Prediction Explained

    Why S Hawking predict BH formation in LHC ?
  2. marcus

    Talk by Weinberg about LHC and future of particle physics (video)

    Excellent talk at clear basic level. To save time, one can start at minute 7:00. That's where he discusses the standard model and then the Higgs, and then moves on to what else might be found. http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2384517 I gather the talk was given this morning, 19 October, at a...
  3. E

    What is the current best estimate for LHC online

    at design energies 14TEV collisions?
  4. H

    Investigating Possibilities of Hyperdrive at LHC - What Do You Think?

    An American physicist is investigating the possibilities of the development of a hyperdrive at the LHC. If you're not familiar with the story, here it is. http://www.physorg.com/news174293159.html What do you guys think? Do you think it's ******** or is there something to it?
  5. E

    Thesis statement for my essay on the LHC

    Im writing my first college essay, an analysis. I chose the large hadron collider because everyone else was doing healthcare reform and Iran testing warheads, thought this would be interesting. The only problem is I can't come up with a badass thesis statement for my essay, the thesis is due...
  6. D

    LHC vs Cosmic Rays: What's the Difference?

    Short question. I know that COLLIDING beams are much more effective than when moving particle hits a target in observers reference frame. That is why they make a collider. However, when Oh My God particles are observed they actually hit something that something does not move. So, when...
  7. F

    Exploring the Mass Increase of Accelerated Particles at the LHC

    Is it proper to say that when the LHC accelerates particles, those particles experience a mass increase? What is the Special Relativity explanation of the mass increase, i.e. do the particles have increased mass when observed in the rest frame of the detector or do the particles have the same...
  8. Adrian59

    LHC - the last chance for all theories of everything?

    The LHC is probably the last of the large accelerators so should the main contenders for the title of the theory of everything (if such a thing exists) now, at the dawn of the LHC start up, clearly state what findings would a) prove their theory b) support their theory & c) eliminate their...
  9. Vanadium 50

    LHC Restart at 3.5 TeV: CERN Prepares for 2009-2010 Run

    The following is on CERN's website:
  10. S

    Will Supersymmetry Remain Relevant in Theoretical Physics Despite LHC Results?

    In 5 years or so, if LHC fails to find any superpartners, are ALL supersymmetric theories dead? Skippy
  11. P

    LHC Restart in Sept - How Long Before We Get Results?

    So the LHC is set to kick back on in September. How long will it be before we get results? How long do you think it will be before we find something new (if we do find something)? I remember hearing someone (I think my physics teacher) saying that it would be a few years before we get any real...
  12. K

    Extra dimensions vs. dark matter in the LHC

    It is my understanding that physicists hope to use conservation of energy in the LHC to determine if there are multiple dimensions AND if there is dark matter. Let's suppose that through conservation of momentum, we detect a particle that apparently only reacts through gravity, and there is some...
  13. P

    Raisin pudding or balloon at LHC

    If the LHC discovers energy evaporating to other branes, will the 'raisin pudding' analogy be abandoned in favor of the balloon analogy?
  14. C

    Exploring the Possibilities: LHC Contained at the North Pole

    what would happen if the north pole was contained within the loop of the lhc at cern? the lhc at maximum speed can make a particle complete 7 loops in a second. the Earth rotates once every 24 hours. if the lhc was set up so the particle was made to move in the opposite direction to the...
  15. D

    Drell-Yan at LHC: Proton+Proton Feynman Diagram

    Hey everyone, Okay so usually drell-yan is shown as interaction of p + p^bar: quark + antiquark -> virtual photon -> lepton(+) + lepton(-). I have seen diagrams of this for the LHC, which is a PROTON+PROTON collider yet drell-yan is still shown as an antiquark coming from one of the protons...
  16. O

    Testability of GUTs at the LHC

    Hello, my understanding of particle physics is very limited. I know that several GUTs involving various symmetries have been proposed. My question is, wether experiments at the LHC can help to rule out or even verify some of the proposed GUTs? Maybe someone has some specific answers. Thank you!
  17. P

    Is the LHC on the verge of discovering a new dimension?

    If the LHC somehow observes the 4 th spatial dimension, does it mean we are on the verge of colapsing a probability wave and therefore determining the attributes of entire new dimension ?
  18. T

    What type of Accelrator is the LHC?

    Homework Statement I am writing about Particle Accelerators Homework Equations N/A The Attempt at a Solution I am writing an essay on particle accelerators, and I am trying to find out what type of accelerator the LHC actually is, but I cannot find anywhere that actually says...
  19. P

    LHC and the Earth's Magnetic Field

    I was curious as to whether or not there is potential for the magnetic field generated by the LHC to affect the Earth's magnetic field...
  20. R

    Latest results on lhc. Does anyone know?

    Latest results on lhc. Does anyone know? Please post the latest results on the LHC. If anyone has any idea if it was a success?
  21. marcus

    LHC down until late summer 2009 or early 2010

    Peter Woit provides this link to a talk at CERN http://indico.cern.ch/getFile.py/access?contribId=92&sessionId=6&resId=1&materialId=slides&confId=22937 Slide 46 indicates that restart will not occur until late summer 2009 (Plan A) or sometime in 2010 (Plan B) The talk was given today by Jörg...
  22. M

    Why LHC use proton-proton collide instead of proton-antiproton collide?

    Why LHC use proton-proton collide instead of proton-antiproton(like,Tevatron) collide?
  23. P

    Is the speed of one beam in the LHC nearly twice that of the other?

    Hi all, I've learned that the LHC has just started. There are two beams of protons which travel clockwise and anti-clockwise at nearly the speed of light. Then the two beams are to colide into each other. My question is whether the speed of one beam compared to the other is at nearly 2 c ?
  24. S

    Energy in the LHC beam at any time

    Can someone that has the data calculate what is the average energy in the large hadron collider beam at any moment of time. It's pretty straightforward, you have N particles which such and such speed and energy, you just sum up. I am not talking at all about the energy to support the...
  25. MathematicalPhysicist

    Will the Large Hadron Collider refute nonstring theories of quantum gravity?

    So, what are the theories' predictions which are going to be tested on LHC? And if they won't be found, Does it mean they will be refuted or not?
  26. D

    What are the Extra Dimensions in the LHC experiment?

    What are the "Extra Dimensions" in the LHC experiment? First of all, I'd like you people to know that I'm a 10th grader. So yes, silly questions may follow. As the topic says, I want to have an idea of what the 'extra dimensions', that might possibly be discovered in the LHC experiment...
  27. Vanadium 50

    LHC First Collisions: Thursday Scheduled

    The present LHC schedule has first collisions scheduled for Thursday.
  28. P

    How will LHC know the Higgs when they see it?

    How will LHC know the Higgs when they "see" it? Amid the petabytes of information about to stream forth from Europe, how will Physics know if it has been wrong about the Higgs field and what may prove the premise? What's the best or worst case scenario, and what comes next?
  29. marcus

    Whether and how LHC will help us get past the SM

    What are your views on this? Assuming things continue to go all right what possible theoretical developments do you see as potential consequences? Just for context, here is a CERN press release A press release from CERN http://press.web.cern.ch/press/PressReleases/Releases2008/PR08.08E.html The...
  30. Math Is Hard

    Are little black holes causing UFO sightings?

    For those interested: http://hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com/ I keep hitting refresh on my browser.
  31. marcus

    Wilczek's nonstring unification vision for LHC and beyond

    Frank Wilczek has brought out a book The Lightness of Being that is a perfect follow-up to Lee Smolin's The Trouble with Physics. Wilczek presents a vision of unification that is predicts phenomena at LHC energies, that is understandable and relevant in terms of today's experiments, and...
  32. H

    Watch LHC Launch Tonight on TV in US with FTA Dish

    Hi Does anyone know if it's possible to see LHC launch tonight on TV in the United States (as opposed to webcast)? I have a FTA dish. There's nothing in Dish network program guide. CERN website shows a few satellites but the only one visible from continental United States is C-Band.
  33. ZapperZ

    Hawking Bets $100 the LHC Will Not Find The Higgs

    Hawking certainly will put his money where is mouth is. He has bet $100 that the http://www.physorg.com/news140161003.html" (or at least, one of the Higgs being predicted to be within the LHC energy range). So who is taking his bet? He does think that the LHC will find a supersymmetric partner...
  34. G01

    Is This the Best LHC Rap Video Ever? :rofl::rofl:

    :smile::smile: I think I am falling in love with the girl who wrote this song!:!) EDIT: Linked to Ryan's video instead.
  35. K

    Accessing LHC Data - Best Ways to Monitor Experiments

    Hi Chaps, As I'm sure we all are, I'm literally jumping up and down with excitement about next weeks first beam circulation - and only 31 days till the first collisions! Obviously, the CERN / LHC website is a great resource, but to someone who is still finding their feet in the particle...
  36. C

    Nostradamus & LHC: Debunking Myths & Contradictions

    hello I am a guy from China, and I am interested in LHC. At first I was convinced that the experiment in LHC would not produce any danger, but when I saw the passage below I was still terrified and afraid of it. http://bigsciencenews.blogspot.com/2008/05/nostradamus-and-lhc.html Can...
  37. N

    Exploring the Mysteries of the Proton in the LHC

    Hi why scientists picked up proton for LHC?
  38. J

    LHC Physics: Taking Risks for the Future

    The real joke would be if nothing were found after all the money that has been spent on this project. Total Anti-Climax! No Higgs-Boson particle, No MBH, No Extra Dimensions, No Dark Matter, No Dark Energy...This would be a real disaster! It's better and healthier for Science that's ultimately...
  39. belliott4488

    Latest Updates on LHC Beam Tests: What You Need to Know

    I've been a little out of touch recently, and I don't know what's going on out there. Haven't they started running some beam tests? Everything okay so far?
  40. T

    Paper Pointing To Danger At LHC?

    Sorry to bug you all, but I have a question to ask. I have a bit of a worrying problem, so when I first heard about the LHC, some of the fear mongering got to me. However, after some research, my worrying nearly ceased. However, I ran into this paper today, and it says there may be a bit of a...
  41. N

    LHC first beam (end of world) time announced

    "Geneva, 7 August 2008. CERN1 has today announced that the first attempt to circulate a beam in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will be made on 10 September." http://press.web.cern.ch/press/PressReleases/Releases2008/PR06.08E.html
  42. J

    Have You Seen the Photos of LHC? Absolutely Mind-Blowing!

    Photos of LHC - fantastic! i don't know if someone has already posted a link to these photos, but if you haven't seen them, check them out - totally incredible. man, i wish i worked there... http://www.boston.com/... .../2008/08/the_large_hadron_collider.html
  43. M

    How Does a Rap Battle Incorporate Physics at CERN's LHC?

    Then check this out:
  44. P

    The likelyhood of black holes in LHC

    From what I gather, only more exotic, extra-dimensional theories predict that there will be microscopic black holes produced in the Large Hadron Collider. And I get that even if they are produced they are very unlikely to be stable and even then they would probably be safe (just to let you know...
  45. N

    Chris Morris Visits the LHC (The Guardian UK)

    Chris Morris (Brass eye, Nathan Barley etc etc), basically the funniest writer/comedian/whatever I can think of, visits the LHC for some elusive reason and writes an article in the Guardian, and records a podcast. For those (few) who are interested, the link is below...
  46. T

    NY Times: Potential Hazards of the LHC

    I was reading a NY Times article on the lawsuit filed by Wagner and Sancho and amongst the usual doomsday predictions of black holes devouring the earth, strangelets turning the Earth to strange matter etc... It made the claim that What kinds of things are they referring to? I mean... i know...
  47. marcus

    Kea's remark about the LHC and 2009

    I happened to see this comment of Kea's on a blog and thought it made good sense. Gil It is not at all reasonable to wait and see what happens at the LHC. Any responsible tax funded theoretician should be working their ass off to come up with quantitative predictions before 2009...
  48. E

    String theorists, will the LHC see SUSY and if not, will this be a huge blow?

    string theorists, will the LHC see SUSY and if not, will this be a huge blow? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/03/25/scibigbang125.xml http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/03/25/scicomments125.xml NIMA ARKANI-HAMED “My hunch is that...
  49. H

    Exploring Mini Black Holes at LHC: Fact or Fiction?

    This may seem like a stupid question that's been brought up several times but it is regarding the possible creation of mini-black holes at the LHC. It's said that these MBH's pose no threat to the planet because of their small size and the fact that they will evaporate by Hawking radiation...
  50. A

    Discussing Predictions of the LHC: String Theory, LQG, and Beyond

    Hello all. I am a layperson that is very interested in science. I am particularly intrigued with what results the LHC will produce and how they affect the various existing theories. I was thinking that a central thread that links to and discusses various predictions on what the LHC will find...
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