Particle Accelerators: Smashing Atoms to Unlock Secrets

Particle accelerators speed up subatomic particles to near the speed of light.
They smash particles together to reveal the building blocks of matter.
The world’s largest accelerator is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland.
Accelerators helped discover the Higgs boson in 2012, confirming the Higgs field.
They use powerful magnets and electric fields to guide and accelerate particles.
Collisions create extreme conditions, mimicking the early universe moments after the Big Bang.
Not all accelerators are massive—smaller ones are found in hospitals for cancer treatment.
Accelerators also produce isotopes used in medical imaging and industry.
They are essential tools for testing the Standard Model and searching for new physics.
By smashing atoms, particle accelerators open windows into the deepest mysteries of the universe.