The Higgs boson particle, also known as the ‘God particle,’ was discovered by a group of European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN) scientists operating the Large Hadron Collider 10 years ago. After years of upgrades, the accelerator is resuming operation in hopes of uncovering its next historic finding in a search for dark matter.
Although no one has ever seen or created dark matter, scientists believe that it does exist and that it could provide an explanation to how the universe came to be. By collecting data through the Large Hadron Collider, or the world’s largest particle collider, researchers at CERN are hoping to uncover the existence of and understand the mysterious substance.
“If we can figure out the properties of dark matter, we learn what our galaxy is made of,” said Joshua Ruderman, an associate professor of physics at New York University. According to Ruderman, that kind of discovery “would be transformative.”
Physicists believe that dark matter makes up roughly 27 percent of matter in the universe, while stars, planets, and galaxies only account for around 5 percent. Dark matter is extremely difficult to detect due to the fact that it does not absorb, reflect, or emit light. However, scientists are sure of its existence after observing dark matter bend light and create gravitational pull.
With several significant particle physics discoveries already under its belt, researchers are hoping that the Large Hadron Collider will be able to pronounce an answer to this new mystery. The machine, which spans nearly 17 miles, is located in a 328-foot-deep underground tunnel around the French-Swiss border and the city of Geneva. It utilizes superconducting magnets, which are chilled to minus 456 degrees Fahrenheit, and two particle beams that travel around the speed of light and are made to collide in a fashion similar to the Big Bang.
The researchers at CERN are hoping that the simulated particle collisions from the machine will cause particles with properties resembling dark matter, and they are aiming to accomplish this within the next four years. On Tuesday, the scientists announced that they had found three new “exotic” particles relating to how subatomic particles bind together, a development that greatly excited the team.
“High-energy colliders remain the most powerful microscope at our disposal to explore nature at the smallest scales and to discover the fundamental laws that govern the universe,” said Gian Giudice, CERN theory department head.
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Although no one has ever seen or created dark matter, scientists believe that it does exist and that it could provide an explanation to how the universe came to be. By collecting data through the Large Hadron Collider, or the world’s largest particle collider, researchers at CERN are hoping to uncover the existence of and understand the mysterious substance.
“If we can figure out the properties of dark matter, we learn what our galaxy is made of,” said Joshua Ruderman, an associate professor of physics at New York University. According to Ruderman, that kind of discovery “would be transformative.”
Physicists believe that dark matter makes up roughly 27 percent of matter in the universe, while stars, planets, and galaxies only account for around 5 percent. Dark matter is extremely difficult to detect due to the fact that it does not absorb, reflect, or emit light. However, scientists are sure of its existence after observing dark matter bend light and create gravitational pull.
With several significant particle physics discoveries already under its belt, researchers are hoping that the Large Hadron Collider will be able to pronounce an answer to this new mystery. The machine, which spans nearly 17 miles, is located in a 328-foot-deep underground tunnel around the French-Swiss border and the city of Geneva. It utilizes superconducting magnets, which are chilled to minus 456 degrees Fahrenheit, and two particle beams that travel around the speed of light and are made to collide in a fashion similar to the Big Bang.
The researchers at CERN are hoping that the simulated particle collisions from the machine will cause particles with properties resembling dark matter, and they are aiming to accomplish this within the next four years. On Tuesday, the scientists announced that they had found three new “exotic” particles relating to how subatomic particles bind together, a development that greatly excited the team.
“High-energy colliders remain the most powerful microscope at our disposal to explore nature at the smallest scales and to discover the fundamental laws that govern the universe,” said Gian Giudice, CERN theory department head.
Link to article: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1657469905951x897264529099337400/CERN%20researchers%20turn%20on%20Large%20Hadron%20Collider%20in%20dark%20matter%20quest%20-%20The%20Washington%20Post.pdf
