particle accelerator
Chemistry in Everyday Life CERN Particle Accelerator Located near Geneva, the CERN Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, or European Council for Nuclear Research Laboratory is the worlds premier center for the investigations of the fundamental particles that make up matter. It contains the 27-kilometer 17 mile long, circular Large Hadron Collider LHC , the largest particle accelerator in the world Figure 21.13 . In the LHC, particles are boosted to high energies and are then made to collide with each other or with stationary targets at nearly the speed of light. Superconducting electromagnets are used to produce a strong magnetic field that guides the particles around the ring. Specialized, purpose-built detectors observe and record the results of these collisions, which are then analyzed by CERN scientists using powerful computers.