Hadron Collider to renew search for more ‘God particles’ in 2015

In 2015, the world’s most powerful atom smasher, the Large Hadron Collider, will restart. The particle accelerator has already discovered the Higgs boson, the so-called “God particle,” and when it comes back online after two years spent on upgrades, researchers suggest it could discover other kinds of these God particles, as well as extra dimensions of reality and the identity of the mysterious dark matter that makes up most of the mass in the universe. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the largest particle collider in the world, with a ring about 27 kilometres in circumference.

Doubling the energy will have a huge impact on the search for new particles at LHC.

Experimental particle physicist Gabriella Sciolla

In 2012, the atom smasher helped scientists discover the long-sought Higgs boson, which helps grant mass to all particles that have mass, such as protons and electrons. The Higgs boson itself has a mass of 125 billion electron-volts, or more than 130 times the mass of the proton. Now, the LHC is set to return in 2015 nearly twice as powerful as its first run from 2010 to 2013. One breakthrough the LHC could make is discovering what particles make up dark matter, one of the greatest mysteries in the universe. Dark matter is thought to be an invisible, enigmatic substance that makes up about five-sixths of all matter in the cosmos.

Science Hadron Collider