The cheering began at 8.32, when the first particles were detected snaking around the first three kilometres (1.9 miles) of the 27km (17mile) LHC ring. By 8.55, it was halfway around the track, which will soon be used to smash protons and lead ions against each other at 99.9999991 per cent of the speed of light. At 9.28, only 56 minutes after the start-up, came the champagne moment — the double trace showing that the beam had completed the first of countless trillions of laps that will explain many of the enduring mysteries of the Universe.
Once the clockwise beam was circulating, the anticlockwise stream with which it will ultimately collide was inserted in the afternoon, completing its own tour of duty soon after 2pm. Over the next few days, they will be tuned and “captured” so they fire in neat pulses.
By recreating the environment of the dawn of time, the LHC will detect phenomena that have never before been observed. It should find the Higgs boson, the so-called “God particle” that theory suggests gives matter its mass, but which has never been found. It should also determine whether all particles have a twin, as a theory known as “supersymmetry” suggests, and thus explain the mysterious “dark matter” that pervades the Universe, but which cannot be seen.
The LHC may even find new dimensions, beyond the three of space and one of time with which we are familiar. It promises to unlock great secrets of the cosmos.
The LHC is going to look deeper into matter and go back further in time than we’ve been able to go before. It’s the most powerful microscope ever built and at the same time the most powerful telescope ever built.
The first trial collisions, from which researchers will calibrate their detectors, could start as early as next week. The LHC will then start operating at about 70 per cent of maximum energy, before it is ramped up to full power next year. Discoveries about supersymmetry could come quickly, but the hunt for the Higgs boson will take longer, with few results expected before 2010.
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