The LHC is not the end

Nov 20, 2009 15:00 GMT  ·  By

Scientists working with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are undoubtedly among some of the luckiest investigators on the planet, having been given the chance to contribute to the most advanced research experiments in the history of humankind. But, even though the particle accelerator has yet to produce concrete results, there are many people wondering what will come next. Some say that, if supersymmetry is not discovered, then the entire field of particle physics would be dead, without any chances of advancements. Others wonder how future particle accelerators would look like.

The LHC is indeed a massive machine, occupying a circular tunnel more than 27 kilometers in diameter, plus the adjacent structures and detectors. It features a large number of superconducting magnets, which are used to accelerate streams of protons to nearly the speed of light, before finally colliding them head-on inside massive particle detectors. The main goal of the investigation is to determine whether or not the Higgs boson, the elementary particle that makes energy acquire mass and vice-versa, exists.

If the Higgs is lighter than the Standard Model shows, then it could be discovered soon. If it's located within the predicted mass range, then it could take up to three years to find. But the real challenge would arise afterwards, when the LHC would have reached its maximum capacity, which currently seems fairly massive in comparison with existing accelerators. One proposed solution is the super LHC, a new and improved Collider that would require minimum investments (about $1.7 billion) for an ever greater scientific return. It would sport proton beams ten times brighter than the LHC does today, and would, therefore, take a lot more time for scientists to browse through its data before any new discoveries are made.

Another solution would be the $8-billion International Linear Collider (ILC), a facility that would sport a 35-kilometer-long linear tunnel, in which particles would essentially be accelerated to impressive speeds before being slammed in targets, and the resulting particles analyzed. It is scheduled to be completed in the early 2020s. But the cherry on the cake goes to the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) installation, a positron and electron linear accelerator that would cost some $10 billion to construct. At this point, this machine is the best bet for discovering new physics, but the technologies physicists envision for it are still in R&D stages, NewScientist reports.