FRANCE – There was joy and excitement in the Swiss-French countryside over the success of the Large Hadron Collider!
The LHC finally succeeded in colliding subatomic particles at three times the highest energy level previously recorded early Tuesday.
“There were cheers in all the control rooms,” said Caltech physicist Harvey Newman. “As soon as we get the data, we’re analyzing it. It’s been a long time coming.”
With the help of the LHC, several experiments could be used to test for smaller particles, dark matter, other dimensions, supersymmetry and other theories in particles physics.
“We’re pretty happy because we’ve been waiting all night,” said Andy Yen, 21, a senior who had worked on experiments related to the colluder for most of his undergraduate career. “Some people have been waiting 15, 20 years. It’s late, but it’s worth it.”
Previous to the successful run, were two false starts due to electrical failures. The LHC whipped protons to more than 99 percent of the speed of light and to energy levels of 3.5 trillion electron volts apiece around a 17-mile underground magnetic racetrack outside of Geneva. The activity that’s recorded is thought to hold insights into the beginning of the world.
Rolf Heuer, director of the European Council for Nuclear Research, said the new collider “opens a new window of discovery and it brings, with patience, new knowledge of the universe and the microcosm. It shows what one can do in bringing forward knowledge.”
Over 16 years and $10 billion have been spent perfecting the LHC. A more than welcomed accomplishment after so much time and money has been invested. LEt’s hope that the results promised are really delivered.
