What is a particle collider? A particle collider is a machine that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to very high speeds and energies, and to contain them in well-defined beams. But that's the scientific definition. Basically, it’s a giant ring that makes use of magnets to smash particles together.
There are a lot of particle colliders in the world at this point in time, but the most well-known one is the 27km circumference, Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire or European Council for Nuclear Research). Now, these things are extremely expensive to build. The LHC cost around $4.75 billion, but are they really useful?
Of course they are. The particle collider helps us in many ways such as:
· The development of particle physics has been directly determined by the progress achieved in building colliders of different sizes.
Colliders are the essential tools by which physicists have been able to probe the nucleus, determine its structure and behavior.
A lot of the mysteries of our world and the universe are still unknown to us due to the lack of technology for deep space and sea exploration, but through learning and understanding the things around us at a molecular level, we can make pretty accurate guesses about what we may find in the great beyond. The particle collider may have drawbacks currently such as its high cost but as we press on into the future, its existence will prove essential to our progression as a civilization.
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