The Swiss voice in the world since 1935

World’s largest particle accelerator restarts

Large Hadron Collider
The Large Hadron Collider, housed in a 27-km tunnel under the Swiss-French border, has been shut down for three years. It has been undergoing maintenance and upgrades, which were slowed down by Covid-19 © Keystone / Laurent Gillieron

CERN, the European Centre for Nuclear Research on the Swiss-French border, on Friday restarted the world’s largest particle accelerator in a bid to find out more about the origins of the universe.

The 27-kilometre Large Hadron ColliderExternal link has been out of action since the start of 2019 for maintenance and upgrades, which were slowed down by Covid-19. Restarting it is a complex procedure akin to directing “an orchestra”, where “all the right steps have to be taken at the right time”, CERN scientist Rende Steerenberg told Reuters earlier this week.

It will take six to eight weeks for the machine to run at full speed, and only then will proton collisions take place again, which scientists hope will reveal more about the fundamental laws of the universe.

Collisions observed at CERN between 2010 and 2013 brought proof of the existence of the long-sought Higgs Boson particle which, along with its linked energy field, is thought to be vital to the formation of the universe after the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago. Physicists hope the resumption of collisions will help in their quest for so-called “dark matter” that lies beyond the visible universe.

More

The LHC is housed in a 27-kilometre tunnel beneath the French-Swiss border near Geneva and is the world’s largest and most complex scientific instrument. It smashes protons at almost the speed of light, recreating conditions a fraction of a second after the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Swiss population increasingly questioning gender roles

More

Swiss increasingly question gender roles

This content was published on The Swiss are increasingly questioning traditional gender roles. Acceptance of same-sex parents has risen by 25 percentage points within ten years.

Read more: Swiss increasingly question gender roles
Swiss researchers develop living material from fungi

More

Swiss researchers develop living material from fungi

This content was published on A Swiss research team has developed a new type of material from fungi. This could be used to create compostable films, moisture sensors or edible additives for food and cosmetics, they say.

Read more: Swiss researchers develop living material from fungi
Gotthard Pass is open again on Friday

More

Gotthard Pass to re-open on Friday

This content was published on The Gotthard Pass is to be re-opened to through traffic on Friday at 11am. A partial re-opening is also planned for the Susten Pass.

Read more: Gotthard Pass to re-open on Friday

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR