Introduction
In recent years the development of experimental techniques of particle physics is widely discussed among professional physicists, and talks revolving around the future of the Large Hadron Collider are the major part of such physicists` discussions. There are a lot of different opinions about the Large Hadron Collider (LHC, onwards), about purpose of its creation and functioning, about repercussions of its performance on science, and either useful or harmful effect on mankind. Herefrom, I will try to explain its importance for the future of particle physics we know nowadays and try to adumbrate its organization, principles of work and narrate all these things without resorting to the methods of modern physics, which are characterized with the use of complex, hard for understanding mathematical formulas.
The LHC: organization and functioning principle
Lincoln defines the LHC as “the world`s largest and highest energy particle accelerator, designed to accelerate protons to nearly the speed of light and collide them in a controlled way” (2009, p. 1). Having studied other works of scholars on this topic I may define the principle of functioning of the LHC as following. The main element of the entire system of the LHC – is a particle accelerator. Charged particles gain energy, moving in an electric field, and for the purpose of control the direction of their motion magnetic fields are used. In order to disperse the particles to extremely high speed, they are artificially forced to “travel” through the acceleration area with the help of powerful magnets for many times. Therefore, the acceleration channel is a huge circular tunnel, which form in the most favorable manner affects controllability and speed of those charged particles. The name “collider” for this accelerator simply means that in this channel at the same time two beams of identical particles but with different electron charges are accelerated to the same speed and then are directed towards each other which makes two types of particles collide. As a result of this, a bunch of energy emerges which leads to the inception of new particles. In order to study these particles there are six detectors that are built in the channel. Each of them – in fact, is a room filled with a variety of electronic devices.
The LHC: specifications
The LHC is really big judging by its specifications. The tunnel, which is mounted in the main channel of acceleration (there are three more preparatory accelerators of smaller size) is located at a depth of about one hundred meters below the Swiss and the French surface and has a length, according to Bryner, of 27 km. To hold and focus beams 1624 superconducting electromagnets (which operate at a temperature of about ‑271.3°C) are used. Estimated energy consumption during operation of the LHC is 180 million watts. And the approximate cost to build the LHC was $10 billion (Bryner, 2012).
Objectives of experiments with the LHC
Having taken a look at these figures, a strong desire to get an answer on one question: “What is it for?” appears. What such considerable material resources are expended for? To give a meaningful answer, I should, at least, analyze the history of the development and current state of elementary particle physics.
Traditionally, “elementary” particles are called those particles that are smaller than atoms and molecules. According to Lincoln, the newly born universe consists of such elementary particles (2009, p.10) – the fact that will be mentioned one more time, but more accurately, a bit later. In the early twentieth century, it was found that atoms consist of heavy and light nuclei and of light electrons that are held near nuclei with the help of electrical forces. Later, physicists learned that nuclei consist of protons and neutrons (general notion of them is “hadrons”), which are held together by the strong interaction. As we see, “hadron” is included the title of the LHC, so that "Hadron Collider" – is a mount within which particles, involved in strong interaction, are colliding. Later, in the 1960s it was discovered that protons, neutrons and other hadrons are themselves made up of smaller objects that are called quarks and leptons that are held together by gluons and photons (Lyndon, 2009, p.11). All these particles, which dimensions are smaller in million times comparing to the size of the radius of proton, make up the whole world and every object in it. Because of such an extremely tiny size of these particles an extremely high-energy processes is needed to be used for studying them. To that end, scientific world introduced accelerators, one of which the LHC is. Taking the above said into account, I assume, the purpose of scholars` conducting experiments with the LHC is to thoroughly study the nature and composition of the world in details, complete the theory of atom composition of the world with including new concepts and definitions.
Results of experiments with the LHC may scientifically prove the correctness of their assumptions regarding the Standard Model which is the basis for all processes in the universe and which discovery dates back to the 1970s. The world within the framework of this model consists of “material particles” – quarks and leptons and “force carriers” that interact with each other. Particles-carriers include already mentioned photons, gluons and bosons of the weak interaction. All these particles move in a vacuum, which, despite its name, in fact, is an active physical environment that exchanges energy with the particles. For the performance of the Standard Model it is absolutely necessary that the particles themselves do not have mass (2009, Lyndon, p.25). However, observations show that they have got mass. What, at the first sight, seems to be false, has got its explanation with introduction of a special field called the Higgs field. This field is part of a vacuum in the Standard Model. Weightless quarks, leptons and other particles moving through a vacuum “besiege” with the particles of Higgs field and become massive (2009, Lincoln, p.27). Weightless remain only those particles that do not interact with the Higgs field (they are photons and gluons).
In search of Higgs bosons
However, if this idea is correct, researchers should have observed also particles of the Higgs field – the so-called Higgs bosons. Of all the Standard Model particles only Higgs bosons still have not been found experimentally. To that end, the LHC was created, to product Higgs bosons with the energy achievable in the Large Hadron Collider. Scientists emphasize that the discovery of the Higgs boson is not just an opening of another of the already experimentally proved particles within the Standard Model. The situation for the theoretical physics looks quite dramatic: either these bosons will be found, or it will be needed to draw a conclusion about the need for a substantial reform of the Standard Model. Hence, it is not surprising that the search for the Higgs boson is the primary purpose of the experiments with the LHC.
Other interests of researchers with the LHC
And there is another purpose of LHC experiments, and not less important one. Theorists, discussing the possible structure of the world, encounter a number of new concepts of modern physics. These are the search of the unified nature of all interactions, search of symmetry between material particles and force carriers, the study of a gravitational interaction in the micro world and the study of the nature of space and time (Datta, Mukhopādhyāẏa, & Raychaudhuri, 2009, p.213). Nowadays scholars have got no experimental information about which is the most effective way of considering about a vision of the world. Physicists hope that the LHC may help in receiving information of such kind.
In addition, experiments on collisions of heavy nuclei may be carried out with the use of the LHC. The information received can lay the foundation for the development of the “energy of the XXII century” – more powerful and safer than the energy of nuclear fusion.
Threats caused by the LHC
But how safe are these large-scale experiments? Recently, the LHC has become well known object of attention because of media appearances and considerations of some researchers about the possibility of global catastrophic repercussions of the collider. Mostly all scientists that are adversaries of benefit from the LHC define the following threats: the possibility of birth of microscopic black holes, “embryos” of new vacuums, magnetic monopoles, hyper stable cores combined with strange quarks ("strangelets"), a bosenova, and a vacuum transition (Johnson, 2009, p.832). However, each of these assumptions has a very low probability of being true. Only to mention that possibility of the existence of these objects has not yet been evidenced. In addition, the scale of the energy produced by the LHC is not “critical” to their birth, as most of them require a lot of energy, billions of times more. Therefore, the possibility of the birth of these objects is very small, even in terms of theories admitting their existence. “I think the probability that the LHC has enough energy to produce little black holes is less than 1 per cent”, - states Hawking (Swaine, 2008).
LHC: practical usefulness
Notwithstanding all worries revolving around the LHC, in fact, proximate benefit may be derived from the LHC and applied by the mankind in many spheres of its living. “The LHC is not primarily about building a better world. Rather, it allows us to test theories and ideas about how the Universe works, its origins and evolution” as said at the website of the UK branch of researchers participated in the experiments conducted with the LHC (“Who benefits”, n.d.). The LHC is not intended to produce economic benefits in the near future. But as Hawking comments “It is difficult to see an economic return from research at the LHC, but that doesn't mean there won`t be any” (Swaine, 2008). One of the examples of commercial use of achievements with the help of the LHC is medicine. For example, the beams of particles received may, theoretically, be used for the purpose of further researches in oncology to fight cancer. In the development and creation of the LHC there were, for sure, technical solutions achieved and some technological innovations fabricated, which may be subsequently used in other different fields of human subsistence.
Conclusion
References
Bryner, J. (2012). Higgs and the Atom Smasher: By the Numbers. Live Science. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/21395-higgs-god-particle-lhc-numbers.html
Datta, A., Mukhopādhyāẏa, B.& Raychaudhuri, A. (2009). Physics at the Large Hadron Collider. New Delhi: Spinger.
Evans, R. L. (2009). The Large Hadron Collider: A Marvel of Technology. Lausanne, Switzerland: EPFL Press.
Johnson, E.E. (2009). The Black Hole Case: The Injunction Against the End of the World [PDF file]. Available from http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/0912/0912.5480.pdf
Lincoln, D. (2009). The Quantum Frontier: The Large Hadron Collider. Baltimore, Maryland: JHU Press.
Shukman, D. (n.d.). Guide to the Large Hadron Collider. BBC News. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7543089.stm
Swaine, J. (2008). Stephen Hawking: Large Hadron Collider vital for humanity. The Telegrapgh. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2710348/Stephen-Hawking-Large-Hadron-Collider-vital-for-humanity.html
“Who benefits”. (n.d.) LHC UK. Retrieved from http://lhc.ac.uk/about-the-lhc/who-benefits.html
