What is Lhc: Definition and 326 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. OdysseasTS

    Schools Beamline for schools, Greek Delegation

    Hey! So I found this ( http://home.web.cern.ch/about/updates/2014/11/beamline-schools-competition-2015-launches-today ) and my high school's physics teachers liked the concept! So I've created a team to participate in this years contest. We were thinking to do something relevant with antimatter...
  2. DiracPool

    LHC Experiments: Understanding "Turning On" the Collider

    I understand basically what goes on at the LHC: They take protons, run them around the accelerator, they collide in the "experiment centers" such as Atlas and CMS, and then record the results of the collisions from detectors that span out radially from the collision site. That part is clear...
  3. P

    Is Now the Best Time to Study String Theory?

    Hello Everyone, I want to know if it's a good time to study string theory from the basics? Or is it wiser to wait till next year, after the 2015 LHC run, if indeed we find any evidence for it? I have done a course in mathematical physics, classical and quantum field theory, electrodynamics and...
  4. T

    Conservation of energy in the LHC

    If I understand the basics correctly, the idea behind the Large Hadron Collider is to discover de Higgs boson. To do this, they accelerate protons to 99,99999% the speed of light. I think it was Einstein who said that no particle with mass can ever reach the speed of light, there is a physical...
  5. L

    Cross Section: Quark-Gluon vs. Quark-Photon

    This isn't a homework problem. I am preparing for a particle physics exam and although I understand the theoretical side of field theory, I have little idea how to approach practical scattering questions like these. THE PROBLEM: Dark matter might be observed at the LHC with monojet and...
  6. D

    Hubble vs. LHC: Who Provides Bigger Return on Investment?

    With the handing out of Nobel Prizes last week it occurred to me that the selection committee decided to go in the direction of hard-headed application of science rather than some grand theory. We can certainly calculate over time, the value of a 'hard-headed" discovery, but calculating the...
  7. ryanuser

    Can we stop protons from moving in LHC?

    Hi my question is simple, can we make the protons stay in a fixed position (not accelerating them) in LHC by using the powerful magnets there? Thanks
  8. S

    Supergravity paper on LHC-physics by Chris Austin

    http://arxiv.org/abs/1103.2732 Abstract "Rough estimates are presented to show that the bump at 1.7 to 1.9 TeV seen in ATLAS-CONF-2010-088 could arise from about 10^{30} approximately degenerate Kaluza-Klein states of the d = 11 supergravity multiplet in the s channel, that could arise from...
  9. ZapperZ

    Marvel of Technology: The LHC, Machine, And Experiments

    The Chicago Blues Fest is going on this weekend in Grant Park right in the heart of downtown Chicago. If you are attending this, or are in downtown Chicago this afternoon, a short walk from the Blues Fest up Columbus drive just north of the Chicago River, you can attend this...
  10. A

    Is CERN LHC suppose to create matter or simply analyse debris of collision ?

    I read 2 books on CERN's LHC and I'm confused by the different information provided in regards to what exactly will the detectors will be analyzing. In the first book ("Present at creation" author: Mr.Aczel), it is clearly written that after the beams collides, matter (protons) will be...
  11. J

    What are the conditions inside the LHC Atlas detector?

    If I could be inside the LHC Atlas detector during a proton bean collision what would I see? Would there be a huge flash of light? Would I be killed, if yes how fast? Or would there be nothing to see?
  12. L

    Calculating Centre of Mass Energy in Fixed Target Interactions with the LHC

    Homework Statement The proposed maximum colliding beam energy, Ec, in the Large Hadron Collider is 7TeV per beam (proton-proton collisions). By a Lorenz transformation, show clearly that to produce the same centre of mass energy in a 'fixed target' interaction, the beam energy woulr have to...
  13. E

    Has missing energy been discovered at the LHC?

    I've been search through google to find out if there has been anything on missing energy so far, i have found nothing. Is there any evidence for or against extra dimensions?
  14. K

    Feynman diagram of how Z is produced at LHC, and info?

    Homework Statement So, I got this task, which I feel either really dumb, or nobody is able to explain: I got this question: Z and W was discovered in 1973 at CERN, how were they produced? Include Feynman diagram and a short description. Then there is this question: How is the Z and W produced...
  15. P

    What's the main difference between ATLAS and CMS detectors in LHC?

    And can the two run simultaneously?
  16. B

    Do the conditions created by the LHC accurartely simulate the big bang?

    The LHC is supposed to create conditions similar to the big bang. Although energy densities, temperatures and other conditions may be similar to those theorized in the big bang and soon thereafter, are the conditions of space and time the same now as then? If time and or space were fundamentally...
  17. K

    Luminosity in LHC: Engineer's Guide to Understanding

    I'm an engineer. What's luminosity? I don't understand the explanation of Wikipedia. Why are physics glad if the luminosity grows up in LHC, respect of last year?
  18. J

    Latest results from the LHC are casting doubt on the theory of supersymmetry

    Latest results from the LHC are casting doubt on the theory of supersymmetry http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=beautiful-theory-collides "I'm wouldn't say I'm concerned," says John Ellis, a theorist at CERN, Europe's particle-physics lab near Geneva, who has worked on...
  19. M

    LHC to achieve design energy in 2012/2013?

    I kind of overheard an discussion over at another forum regarding this, but none could seem to find a reliable source to verify it. The only thing I could find is information from page 1 at the LHC Portal saying that the might "skip" the planned stop during 2012 and perhaps even increase...
  20. T

    Searching for LHC News - Has Higgs Been Found?

    Is there any LHC News Well the LHC has been running at 7TeV for 6 months now and everything seems very quite, is it still too early to hear of discoveries? I have searched the LHC site and the web but there nothing out there. I presume that Higgs has not been found?
  21. T

    Calculating LHC Forces on a Proton

    I posted an LHC question a while back but did not get a reply. I'll ask a somewhat different, simplified and more specific question. I hope I am asking the question correctly. How much inward radial force is needed to keep a proton going in a 27 km circular path at 7 Tev or a Lorentz factor...
  22. P

    Exploring Early Results from the LHC: A Comprehensive Overview

    Are there any early results from the LHC? If so what have they seen?
  23. M

    Is Flux Density at the LHC Safer Than Cosmic Ray Exposure?

    Hello, I was reading the quote below in a safety debate and I had a question. It is generally accepted that flux density is not a safety issue, why is that? One would think that the more energy one fits into one place at a certain time, the more energetic the situation is. Like when you use a...
  24. F

    IKEA Instructions: The Math Behind Them

    I don't think it's held together with wooden dowlings though... [PLAIN]http://proofmathisbeautiful.tumblr.com/photo/1280/2687892547/1/tumblr_letrbfSKMZ1qavazm http://proofmathisbeautiful.tumblr.com/post/2687892547/centaurismymentaur-if-ikea-made-instructions
  25. J

    Exploring the Impact of High-Speed Particle Collisions at the LHC

    I am aware that the LHC accelerates subatomic particles to just under the speed of light then smashes them together. However, at the time of collision, would this mean that the combined speed of the impacting particles is almost two times the speed of light? Or are the particles individually...
  26. C

    Visiting the Large Hadron Collider: Tour Tips & Info for Random Public Visitors

    So I am making plans to visit my sister in Switzerland this spring (around April or May?) and was excited to discover that we will be actually very close to the Large Hadron Collider! I immediately started wondering if there was some way to take a trip over there. Not sure where best on PF to...
  27. E

    What Would Happen if LHC Beam Impinged On Someone/Something?

    Hello everyone, Ummm... question that I was asked by one of my children which i just cannot answer... With the LHC running with a beam of highly accelerated protons whizzing around... what would be the effect if they were able to impinge on someone (or something). Seeing as they are moving so...
  28. L

    What Are Teraelectronvolts (TeV) & the LHC?

    Ok when they say things such as teraelectronvolts i don't know what sort of context that applies to. like are they pumping that much energy into the magnets or what are they doing with all those electron volts its confusing. like what do they mean when they say beam x number of...
  29. K

    Is LHC pushing the limits of naturally observable phenomena in the Universe?

    Are collisions with the energy levels of LHC happening in our modern day Universe? Like at the core of stars or at the event horizon of black holes where a lot of high energy stuff is going on? Sorry for the naive question, I'm extremely interested in physics but I'm just not proficient...
  30. B

    Is the Energy Released in LHC Collisions Sufficient for Particle Generation?

    Can we use energy in LHC collisions?
  31. B

    What was the rest mass of the ZZ pair found at the LHC?

    See http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/44305 Bob S
  32. T

    What else could the LHC accelerate?

    The LHC accelerates protons and lead ions. Are all the electrons stripped from the lead ions? If so, could lead ions with some electrons still be accelerated? Would there be any reason to? Could the LHC accelerate alpha particles or other nuclei? Why lead ions over lighter or heaver...
  33. G

    LHC Doomsday Claims: Debunking an Alleged Catastrophe

    Ok, so most of us are probably familiar with the micro-black hole fears that were pretty baseless. There is a new angle on the LCH doomsday scenario, involving the production of strangelets, which will allegedly produce a catastrophic "ice-9" reaction, flipping all the quarks on Earth or some...
  34. J

    Does anyone know when the LHC will be open to the public again?

    I am hoping to visit CERN at some point, but the underground areas are closed off at the moment. So just wondering if anyone knows when it's open to the public again Thanks :)
  35. C

    I need some ideas for a sci-fi essay related to the accident of a LHC.

    Hi all, I'm writing a sci-fi story for a competition, are there any more realistic ideas of what accident can LHC cause that has massive impact on the whole earth? currently, my idea is the formation of massive black holes from quantum ones which led to the Earth being swallowed. How...
  36. Vanadium 50

    LHC says quarks still elementary

    The ATLAS experiment has recently sent two papers for publication. Both look for evidence of quark substructure, in two different ways. http://arxiv.org/abs/1008.2461" , submitted to Physical Review Letters, looks for an excited quark, and does not see any evidence of one. Based on that...
  37. H

    Particle collisions at the LHC

    Hello everyone, Quick question: Which particles are colliding at the LHC and why? All I know is that proton-proton collisions are explored as well as heavier nuclei such as gold (Au) and lead (Pb) to research the quark-gluon plasma state. -Hioj
  38. arivero

    New two-particle correlations observed in the CMS detector at the LHC

    http://cms.web.cern.ch/cms/News/2010/QCD-10-002/ http://motls.blogspot.com/2010/09/lhc-probably-sees-new-shocking-physics.html http://cms.web.cern.ch/cms/News/2010/QCD-10-002/CERN_seminar_QCD-10-002_introduction.pdf pg 14
  39. A

    Watch LHC Operation in realtime

    FYI. You can watch LHC ops in realtime here. Currently ramping. http://op-webtools.web.cern.ch/op-webtools/vistar/vistars.php?usr=LHC1
  40. E

    What if the Higgs is not found by LHC and Tev, nor anything else

    Technicolor models offer ways to break EWB that do not involve higgs, but do predict new observations at LHC energies. Based on precision WW scattering, unitarity would be violated without the Higgs mechanism. So if the Higgs, or something that plays its role, is not found, unitarity is...
  41. E

    Superconducting Super Collider still worth building after LHC?

    The canceled Superconducting Super Collider had 3x beam energy of 40TEV vs LHC 14TEV. While it has been cancelled, could it be re-started 20-30 years after LHC hits diminishing returns in the future? Is there any new expected physics in SSC range over and above LHC that would make it worth...
  42. E

    LHC and SUSY Aug 2010 results, implications for string theory

    LHC thus far has ruled out some of the SUSY parameter space over and above Tev, esp gluinos above a certain mass. So LHC has offered some useful research into SUSY. Were SUSY gluinos detected it would be a huge boost to strings/Supergravity Beyond the Standard Model...
  43. L

    Is Charge Conserved in Proton-Proton Collisions at LHC?

    Is charge conserved in the remains of the collision?
  44. rhody

    Sounds of experimental data at the LHC

    http://lhcsound.hep.ucl.ac.uk/page_library/SoundsLibrary.html" This above link that has 17 different sounds: and http://www.physorg.com/news196520209.html" Rhody... :wink: P.S. They use every trick in the book to give the data analysis team(s) every advantage not to miss...
  45. N

    Lhc particles harmful to humans?

    hi, i like a practical approach to everything (as you can see very clearly in this thread, https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=411875) so i will ask this question: when the lhc is running and colliding particles, if you stood in it, would you see the reaction occurring?, if so...
  46. P

    Will LHC measure gravitational waves?

    Considering they will eventually be colliding gold or lead ions, will they measure or be able to measure the gravitational impact of the collisions? Just curious since the velocity will be so extreme. I would think Tevatron would already have something to say about this, but I'm unsure of...
  47. R

    LHC T-Shirt Formula: Unravel the Mystery

    I went to see the LHC (my version of a pilgrimage to Mecca). I bought a tshirt with a formula on it, but I can't find any information on what the formula describes. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4005975&l=cc76e7a9d7&id=529304037 hopefully, that link works, if not I can tell you...
  48. rhody

    Day at LHC timelapsed to 4:45 minutes

    Thought some might enjoy this, I thought it was a cool video including the synthesizer's voice... Reminds me vaguely of Stephen Hawking's... Even if you are not familiar with all phases of the cycle, watching this video gives you a rough idea of the time intervals to inject (with retries...
  49. T

    How Will LHC Discoveries Impact Everyday Technology and Society?

    Hi! What are the most exciting potentials for current and future experiments done at the LHC? Really, I'd like to know what type of impact we can expect to see at a practical level. Any new technologies that may arise from these studies? How will studies at LHC affect our every-day world...
  50. rhody

    Atlas Experiment: CERN Video, link: All LHC Experiment docs

    First, the assembly, time lapsed of course... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVrUR_SOykk&feature=related" This is a blow up of the Transition Radiation, Semi-conductor and Pixel Detectors, innermost Atlas detectors. Description of layers of detectors and what each one is...
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