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After 20 years of planning: Is our understanding of the Universe about to change?

^{Damage of the LHC magnets in sector 3-4 of the LHC, provoked by the incident which happened on 19 September 2008. Picture: Cern}

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a gigantic scientific instrument near Geneva, where it spans the border between Switzerland and France about 100 m underground. It is a particle accelerator used by physicists to study the smallest known particles – the fundamental building blocks of all things.

This morning, the 7 TeV collision did not work as it was planned. The particle showers in the accelerator did not collide. New attempt was done in the afternoon and it was a success. After 20 years of waiting CERN has made history´s biggest collision.

After this 7 TeV collisions the plan is to run continuously for a period of 18-24 months, with a short technical stop at the end of 2010. This will bring enough data across all the potential discovery areas to firmly establish the LHC as the world’s foremost facility for high-energy particle physics.

There are many theories as to what will result from these collisions, but what’s for sure is that a brave new world of physics will emerge from the new accelerator, as knowledge in particle physics goes on to describe the workings of the Universe

What is CERN?

CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the world’s largest and most respected centres for scientific research. Its business is fundamental physics, finding out what the Universe is made of and how it works.

The instruments used at CERN are particle accelerators and detectors. Accelerators boost beams of particles to high energies before they are made to collide with each other or with stationary targets. Detectors observe and record the results of these collisions.

Founded in 1954, the CERN Laboratory sits astride the Franco–Swiss border near Geneva. It was one of Europe’s first joint ventures and now has 20 Member States.

The Helsinki Institute of Physics is responsible for the Finnish research collaboration with CERN. It is operated jointly by the University of Helsinki, Aalto University, the University of Jyväskylä, the Lappeenranta University of Technology, and the Tampere University of Technology.

The research activity at the institute covers an extensive range of subjects in theoretical physics and experimental subatomic physics. The mandate of the institute is to carry out and facilitate research in basic and applied physics as well as in physics research and technology development at international accelerator laboratories.

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Ella Airas is a journalist working for The Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE and MyScience, among others. When she is not working she likes to spend her time in the nature and to photograph it. Travelling and documentary films are her passions.