AI Insight
CERN's Large Hadron Collider, located beneath the French-Swiss border, has entered a long shutdown period for upgrades after years of colliding protons at near light-speed. The shutdown is intended to enhance the facility's capabilities to further investigate the Higgs boson, a fundamental particle discovered at the LHC in 2012. The upgrades will allow scientists to conduct more detailed studies of this particle's properties and interactions.
Why it matters
Understanding the Higgs boson more thoroughly could reveal new physics beyond the Standard Model and explain fundamental questions about mass, the structure of the universe, and potentially undiscovered particles or forces. The upgraded LHC will provide higher collision rates and improved detector sensitivity, enabling more precise measurements.
Understand the Science
Deep beneath the French-Swiss border, the world’s largest scientific instrument has fallen silent. After years of smashing protons together at nearly the speed of light, CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has stopped operations and entered a long shutdown.
Source: The Large Hadron Collider is being upgraded so that it can unlock the secrets of the Higgs boson