A candidate Higgs event in the ATLAS detector. Note how even with the clear signatures and transverse tracks, there is a shower of other particles; this is due to the fact that protons are composite particles. This is only the case because the Higgs gives mass to the fundamental constituents that compose these particles. At high enough energies, the currently most-fundamental particles known may yet split apart themselves. (THE ATLAS COLLABORATION / CERN)

Will The LHC Be Humanity’s Last Gasp For Particle Physics?

CERN’s bold new proposal has physicists confronting the biggest question of all: is building a new collider worth it?

If you want to discover anything novel about the natural, physical world we inhabit, you have to ask the right questions. In space, that means looking at the Universe with larger telescopes, broad wavelength ranges, wide fields-of-view, and superior instrumentation. In low-temperature physics, that means approaching absolute zero, extreme pressures, and more extreme and exotic quantum states of matter. And in particle physics, that means higher energies, more collisions, and superior detectors.

Sometimes, when you look at the Universe as you’ve never looked before, you find clues of something new. Sometimes you only find what you expect, but other times, you find the unexpected: the serendipitous discoveries that often lead to scientific revolutions and giant leaps forward in our understanding. With a bold new plan to build a transformative collider superseding the LHC, CERN is ready to push our frontiers far into the unknown. But is it too expensive, as detractors claim, for an uncertain science haul? The future of particle physics hangs in the balance.