The Construction of the LHC
The Large Hadron Collider or LHC is a first on a number of counts. It is the largest single machine on the planet, the most dynamic and powerful particle collider and the most involved and advanced experimental facility ever constructed. The LHC was constructed by CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) from 1998 -2008. More than 10,000 scientists and engineers from hundreds of laboratories and universities across 100 countries collaborated with the CERN on the LHC construction project. The Large Hadron Collider has a circumference of 27 kilometres and is situated in a tunnel 574 ft. beneath the Switzerland-France border, very near Geneva, Switzerland. The LHC’s first research run was conducted starting from Mar 2010 up to early 2013 at an energy of 3.5 -4 TeV) per beam (7-8 TeV total); this was about four times the earlier collider world record.
What the LHC does Post that, the collider underwent an upgrade for a period of two years and was moved into its second research run in early 2015, where it reached 6.5 TeV/beam (13 TeV total), which is the current world record). The aim of the Large Hadron Collider is to give physicists the opportunity to test various particle physics theories and predictions, such as:
Measuring the Higgs Boson properties
Searching for new particles’ families that are part of new supersymmetric theory predictions
Other unsolved physics-related theories and questions
Large Hadron Collider - the construction
The LHC is made up of a 27-kms ring of superconducting magnets that have a series of accelerating structures which boost the particulates’ energy along the way.
Inside the accelerator, 2 high-energy particle beams travel at almost the speed of light prior to a controlled collision.
The superconducting electromagnets maintain a strong magnetic field that guides the beams around the system’s accelerator ring.
The electromagnets are made of special electric cable coils that operate in a superconducting state. They conduct electricity very efficiently without any loss of energy or resistance. For this to happen, the magnets have to be chilled to a temperature of ‑3°C (colder than outer space). This is why a large portion of the accelerator is connected to a liquid helium distribution system, which cools the electromagnets and other related supply services.
Beams are directed around the LHC’s accelerator using thousands of magnets of varying sizes and types such as:
1232 dipole magnets – These magnets are 15 meters in length and bend the beams.
392 quadrupole magnets- Each of these are 5 to 7 metres in length and are used to focus the beams.
Just before the collision, a different type of magnet is utilised to "squeeze" or pack the particles together; this increases the chances of collisions. These particles are so minuscule that making them collide is almost like firing two needles ten kilometres apart with extreme precision, so they meet halfway.
Large Hadron Collider -the computing structure
The collider has four crossing points, with detectors positioned around them. Each of these is designed for specific types of research.
The beams within the LHC are made to collide at 4 locations around the system’s accelerator ring; they correspond to the positions of the four particle detectors – ATLAS, CMS, LHCb and ALICE.
The Large Hadron Collider mainly performs collisions of proton beams. However, it can also utilise lead nuclei beams.
In 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2015, the physicists performed lead-lead collision experiments and in 2013 and 2016 proton-lead collisions were conducted for short periods of time.
In 2012 the Worldwide Large Hadron Collider Computing Grid (which holds a world record) was also the largest distributed computing grid in the world; it included more than 170 computing facilities in a global network spread across 36 countries.
Data from collisions were produced at a highly unprecedented rate for the time of the 1st collisions (tens of petabytes/year), which was a significant challenge at that point of
As of 2017, this data has been analysed by a complex grid-form computer network connecting 170 different computing centres across 42 countries. All the accelerator controls, the technical infrastructure as well as its services are housed under a single roof at the CERN’s Control Centre.