CERN’s Large Hadron Collider has blasted off for the third time to reveal more secrets of the universe

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A decade ago, the Large Hadron Collider, the most powerful particle accelerator on Earth, demonstrated the existence of a subatomic particle called the Higgs boson – thought to be a basic building block of the universe dating back to the Big Bang billions of years ago.

Now, physicists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) on the Swiss-French border are restarting the collider With the goal of understanding more about the Higgs boson and other subatomic particles and the mysteries of dark matter – an invisible and elusive substance that cannot be seen because it does not absorb, reflect or emit any light.

Consisting of a ring 27 kilometers (16.7 miles) in circumference, the Large Hadron Collider – located deep in the Alps – is made of superconducting magnets cooled to -271.3 °C (-456 °F), which is colder than outer space. It works by smashing small molecules together to allow scientists to observe them and see what’s inside.

Proton beams have already been circulating in the accelerator complex since April, when It has been running after being closed for three years of maintenance and updates.

On Tuesday, scientists at CERN They will start collecting data for their experiencesAnd the Great Hadron The collider will operate around the clock for about four years. it’s a The third round of the massive device, with greater accuracy and detection potential than ever before thanks to improved data readouts and selection systems, as well as new detection systems and computing infrastructure.

When we do research we hope to find something unexpected, a surprise. This will be the best result. “But of course the answer is in the hands of nature, and it depends on how nature answers open questions in fundamental physics,” said Fabiola Gianotti, CERN’s director general, in a video posted on the CERN website.

“We are looking for answers to questions about dark matter, why the Higgs boson is so light, and many other open questions.”

Physicists François Englert and Peter Higgs first theorized the existence of the Higgs boson in the 1960s. The Standard Model of Physics lays out the basics of how elementary particles and forces interact in the universe. But the theory fails to explain how the particles actually get their mass. Particles, or parts of matter, range in size and can be larger or smaller than atoms. Electrons, protons, and neutrons, for example, are the subatomic particles that make up the atom. Scientists now We think the Higgs boson is the particle that gives all matter its mass.

In 2013, one year after discovering the particle, Englert and Higgs arrived at They won the Nobel Prize for their far-sighted predictions. But there is still much that is unknown about the Higgs boson, and revealing its secrets may help scientists understand the universe on a smaller scale and some of the universe’s biggest mysteries.

The Large Hadron Collider, which opened in 2008, is the only place in the world where Higgs boson It can be produced and studied in detail. third round Work successfully began at 10.47 a.m. ET on Tuesday.

In the final round of experiments, CERN scientists will study the properties of matter under extreme temperatures and density, and will also look for explanations. of dark matter and other new phenomena, either through direct searches or – indirectly – through precise measurements of known particle properties.

Michelangelo Mangano, a theoretician at CERN . said: In a press release.

Dark matter is believed to make up most of the matter in The universe was previously discovered by its ability to create gravitational distortions in outer space.

Luca Malgiri, a spokesperson for CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid), said one of the four largest experiments of the Large Hadron Collider: built around a massive electromagnet.