timeline History of CERN
CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, was founded in 1954 by 12 European countries in an effort to establish a world-class research facility to explore the mysteries of the universe. Today, it is one of the world’s largest and most respected centers for scientific research, with 23 member states and numerous global partnerships. CERN is primarily located in Geneva, Switzerland, with its facilities straddling the Franco-Swiss border.
CERN's mission is to provide physicists with the necessary tools and infrastructure to conduct groundbreaking experiments in subatomic particle research, advancing our understanding of the universe. The organization has been at the forefront of several monumental scientific achievements.
Location
The main campus of CERN is located on the Franco-Swiss border, near Geneva, Switzerland. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the most famous of its particle accelerators, runs underground in a circular tunnel spanning 27 kilometers (17 miles), with parts of it in both Switzerland and France.
Image: underground location of LHC and the four main experiments.
Achievements
CERN has contributed significantly to particle physics, not just through discoveries, but also through the development of technologies that impact society at large. One of CERN's most notable achievements is the construction of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator, located 100 meters underground. The LHC has allowed scientists to conduct experiments that have expanded our understanding of particle physics and the forces governing the universe.
Image: CERN's accelerator control center (CCC), where scientists monitor and control the operation of the Large Hadron Collider and other accelerators at the laboratory.
Key Milestones
- 1954: CERN is founded by 12 European countries.
- 1989: Tim Berners-Lee invents the World Wide Web at CERN to meet the demand for information sharing between physicists working in different parts of the world.
- 2008: the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, begins operation.
- 2012: discovery of the Higgs boson particle, a milestone in particle physics that confirms the existence of the Higgs field, a key element in the Standard Model of particle physics.
Image: a diagram showing the organizational structure of CERN, highlighting its various departments and collaborations.
Important Discoveries & Experiments
CERN's discoveries have revolutionized our understanding of particle physics. Here are some of the most important experiments and findings:
- The Higgs Boson Discovery (2012): one of the most famous experiments conducted at CERN was the search for the Higgs boson. This elusive particle was theorized to give mass to other particles. After decades of research, the Higgs boson was finally detected in 2012 by the ATLAS and CMS detectors at the LHC. This discovery earned scientists François Englert and Peter Higgs the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2013.
- The World Wide Web (1989): Tim Berners-Lee, a British scientist working at CERN, invented the World Wide Web as a means for researchers across the world to share and access data. This invention has since transformed communication, commerce, and global connectivity.
- Antimatter Experiments: CERN is also known for its research on antimatter. In 1995, CERN’s scientists created the first antihydrogen atoms. Understanding antimatter could lead to breakthroughs in fields ranging from energy to medical technology.
- Quark-Gluon Plasma: CERN's ALICE experiment has been instrumental in studying quark-gluon plasma, a state of matter thought to have existed just after the Big Bang. By colliding heavy ions at extreme energies, scientists at CERN recreate conditions similar to those at the birth of the universe.
Curiosities about CERN
- Data Processing: CERN generates huge amounts of data, approximately 30 petabytes (30 million gigabytes) annually, which are processed by a global network of computing centers.
- The Atlas Detector: the ATLAS detector at CERN is 45 meters long, 25 meters in diameter, and weighs as much as the Eiffel Tower!
- International Collaboration: CERN employs scientists from more than 100 different nationalities, fostering a global environment for scientific progress.
- Black Hole Theories: some experiments at CERN have led to speculation about the potential to create micro black holes, although there is no risk to Earth, as such black holes would evaporate almost instantly.
