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| Collider sees high-energy success | Collider sees high-energy success |
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| Europe's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has produced record-breaking high-energy particle collisions. | Europe's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has produced record-breaking high-energy particle collisions. |
| Scientists working on the European machine have smashed beams of protons together at energies that are 3.5 times higher than previously achieved. | Scientists working on the European machine have smashed beams of protons together at energies that are 3.5 times higher than previously achieved. |
| Tuesday's milestone marks the beginning of work that could lead to the discovery of fundamental new physics. | Tuesday's milestone marks the beginning of work that could lead to the discovery of fundamental new physics. |
| There was cheering and applause in the LHC control room as the first collisions were confirmed. | There was cheering and applause in the LHC control room as the first collisions were confirmed. |
| LHC EXPLAINED LHC guide in graphics and video | LHC EXPLAINED LHC guide in graphics and video |
| These seven-trillion-electronvolt (TeV) collisions have initiated 18-24 months of intensive investigations at the LHC. | These seven-trillion-electronvolt (TeV) collisions have initiated 18-24 months of intensive investigations at the LHC. |
| Scientists hope the studies will bring novel insights into the nature of the cosmos and how it came into being. | Scientists hope the studies will bring novel insights into the nature of the cosmos and how it came into being. |
| Many of them have described Tuesday's event as the beginning of a "new era in science". | Many of them have described Tuesday's event as the beginning of a "new era in science". |
| But researchers caution that the data gathered from the sub-atomic impacts will take time to evaluate, and the public should not expect immediate results. | But researchers caution that the data gathered from the sub-atomic impacts will take time to evaluate, and the public should not expect immediate results. |
| "Major discoveries will happen only when we are able to collect billions of events and identify among them the very rare events that could present a new state of matter or new particles," said Guido Tonelli, a spokesman for the CMS detector at the LHC. | "Major discoveries will happen only when we are able to collect billions of events and identify among them the very rare events that could present a new state of matter or new particles," said Guido Tonelli, a spokesman for the CMS detector at the LHC. |
| "This is not going to happen tomorrow. It will require months and years of patient work," he told BBC News. | "This is not going to happen tomorrow. It will require months and years of patient work," he told BBC News. |
| The LHC is one of the biggest scientific endeavours ever undertaken. | The LHC is one of the biggest scientific endeavours ever undertaken. |
| WHAT IS AN ELECTRON VOLT? Charged particles tend to speed up in an electric field, defined as an electric potential - or voltage - spread over a distanceOne electron volt (eV) is the energy gained by a single electron as it accelerates through a potential of one voltIt is a convenient unit of measure for particle accelerators, which speed particles up through much higher electric potentialsThe first accelerators only created bunches of particles with an energy of about a million eV (MeV)The LHC can reach beam energies a million times higher: up to several teraelectronvolts (TeV)This is still only the energy in the motion of a flying mosquitoBut that energy is packed into a comparatively few particles, travelling at more than 99.99% of the speed of light | WHAT IS AN ELECTRON VOLT? Charged particles tend to speed up in an electric field, defined as an electric potential - or voltage - spread over a distanceOne electron volt (eV) is the energy gained by a single electron as it accelerates through a potential of one voltIt is a convenient unit of measure for particle accelerators, which speed particles up through much higher electric potentialsThe first accelerators only created bunches of particles with an energy of about a million eV (MeV)The LHC can reach beam energies a million times higher: up to several teraelectronvolts (TeV)This is still only the energy in the motion of a flying mosquitoBut that energy is packed into a comparatively few particles, travelling at more than 99.99% of the speed of light |
| Housed at Cern (the European Organization for Nuclear research) in a 27km-long tunnel under the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva, the LHC successfully collided particle beams travelling at close to the speed of light. | Housed at Cern (the European Organization for Nuclear research) in a 27km-long tunnel under the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva, the LHC successfully collided particle beams travelling at close to the speed of light. |
| The expectation is that previously unseen phenomena will reveal themselves in the resulting debris, with a key objective being the search for the much talked-about Higgs boson particle. | |
| This is thought to have a profound role in the structure of the Universe, and would enable scientists to explain why matter has mass - something which, at a fundamental level, they have difficulty doing at present. | This is thought to have a profound role in the structure of the Universe, and would enable scientists to explain why matter has mass - something which, at a fundamental level, they have difficulty doing at present. |
| Cern's director general Rolf Heuer said: "It's a great day to be a particle physicist. | |
| "The LHC has a real chance over the next two years of... possibly giving insights into the composition of about a quarter of the Universe." | |
| Take two | |
| The LHC broke down shortly after its opening in 2008 but, since coming back online late last year, has gradually been ramping up operations. | The LHC broke down shortly after its opening in 2008 but, since coming back online late last year, has gradually been ramping up operations. |
| Two proton particle beams have been circling in opposite directions in the magnet-lined tunnels at 3.5 TeV since 19 March. | Two proton particle beams have been circling in opposite directions in the magnet-lined tunnels at 3.5 TeV since 19 March. |
| Having established their stability, these beams were allowed to cross paths and collide. | Having established their stability, these beams were allowed to cross paths and collide. |
| This 7 TeV event, which took place on Tuesday at 1200 BST, was the highest energy yet achieved in a particle accelerator. | This 7 TeV event, which took place on Tuesday at 1200 BST, was the highest energy yet achieved in a particle accelerator. |
| The LHC's four major experiments - its giant detectors Alice, Atlas, CMS and LHCb - have now begun to gather their first physics data from the collisions, a development that Cern described as an "historic moment". | The LHC's four major experiments - its giant detectors Alice, Atlas, CMS and LHCb - have now begun to gather their first physics data from the collisions, a development that Cern described as an "historic moment". |
| "This is new territory," said Professor Tonelli. | "This is new territory," said Professor Tonelli. |
| "If you want to discover new particles, you have to produce them; and these new particles are massive. To produce them, you need higher energies. For the first time [on Tuesday], we will be producing particles that have energy 3.5 times higher than the maximum energy achieved so far. | "If you want to discover new particles, you have to produce them; and these new particles are massive. To produce them, you need higher energies. For the first time [on Tuesday], we will be producing particles that have energy 3.5 times higher than the maximum energy achieved so far. |
| "This is why we can start the long journey to make major discoveries in identifying a new massive state of matter." | "This is why we can start the long journey to make major discoveries in identifying a new massive state of matter." |
| At the end of the 7 TeV (3.5 TeV per beam) experimental period, the LHC will be shut down for maintenance for up to a year. When it re-opens, it will attempt to create 14 TeV events. | At the end of the 7 TeV (3.5 TeV per beam) experimental period, the LHC will be shut down for maintenance for up to a year. When it re-opens, it will attempt to create 14 TeV events. |