Introduction
to the machine: The Large Hadron Collider, built underneath the Swiss and
French Alps, is the world's largest particle accelerator, 14 years in the
making.
Now Under Construction:
A Black Hole Factory 3/1/2002
DISCOVER's
own Phil Plait, The Bad Astronomer, takes a tour of the machine.
Europe:
Day 3—CERN! The LHC! 4/22/2008
The LHC's
main target: finding evidence of the ever-elusive Higgs boson, the so-called
"God particle.
Catch Me if
You Can 7/24/2005
Hopefully,
though, all those underground collisions will reveal more than just the Higgs.
Beyond the Higgs
8/13/2007
To do its
work, the LHC has to be cold, and we mean cold.
Is
the LHC colder than space? 7/23/2008
And
"large" is an understatement: The LHC's main ring is 17 miles around,
and over the course of its life it will crank out an enormous amount of data.
The
Biggest Thing in Physics 8/13/2007
Will
the Large Hadron Collider Create 12 Miles of Data? 7/22/2008
If you
need your physics explanations to be rhymed (and augmented by amazingly bad
dancing), here's the LHC rap:
Worst
(and Best) Science Rap of the Week 9/2/2008
It's not
all fun and games, though. As you may have heard, some people are stricken with
the idea that the collider will create "strangelets," mini black
holes that will destroy the world. So they sued in order to stop the LHC from
activating.
Taking
Particle Physics to Court 3/29/2008
When the
legal avenue failed to stop the march of physics, other LHC opponents took
another tack—threatening the scientists.
Letter
to LHC Scientists: You Are Evil and Dangerous 9/5/2008
And just
when you thought it couldn't get weirder, some scientists speculate that the consequences
of the LHC's experiments will prevent those experiments from ever taking place.
Wait, what?
Will
the LHC's Future Cancel Out Its Past? 8/11/2008
Physicists
try, and try, and try to reassure everyone that no, in fact, the world will not
end when they start smashing particles this month.
The
Extremely Long Odds Against the Destruction of the Earth 7/24/2008
Physics
Experiment Won't Destroy Earth 6/23/2008
Brian
Cox calls 'em like he sees 'em 9/7/2008
And
finally, let the colliding commence.
The
Large Hadron Collider Will Finally Start Smashing in September 8/7/2008
All
Systems Go For World's Largest Particle Smasher 8/26/2008
First
Protons Whiz Around the Large Hadron Collider’s Track 9/10/2008
See the related DISCOVER article, "Nevermind The Black Hole Hoopla: Here's How the LHC Could Blow Up the World (of Physics)."
