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Physics News 10 November, 2023 Latest news News Accelerators At CERN Computing Engineering Experiments Knowledge sharing Physics Events Webcasts CERN Community News and announcements Official communications Events Scientists News Events Press Room Press Room submenu Media News Resources Contact Science Science The research programme at CERN covers topics from kaons to cosmic rays, and from the Standard Model to supersymmetry Know more Physics Antimatter Dark matter The early universe The Higgs boson The Standard Model + More Accelerators CERN's accelerators The Antiproton Decelerator The Large Hadron Collider High-Luminosity LHC + More Engineering Accelerating: radiofrequency cavities Steering and focusing: magnets and superconductivity Circulating: ultra-high vacuum Cooling: cryogenic systems Powering: energy at CERN + More Computing The CERN Data Centre The Worldwide LHC Computing Grid CERN openlab Open source for open science The birth of the web + More Experiments ALICE ATLAS CMS LHCb + More Resources Featured resources CERN Courier Nov/Dec 2023 Courier Physics 1 November, 2023 High-Luminosity LHC images Image Accelerators 20 June, 2018 LHC Facts and Figures Brochure Knowledge sharing 10 May, 2022 See all resources By Topic Accelerators At CERN Computing Engineering Experiments Knowledge sharing Physics By format 360 image Annual report Brochure Bulletin Courier Image Video + More By audience CERN community Educators General public Industry Media Scientists Students + More search E.G. BIRTH OF WEB, LHC PAGE 1, BULLETIN... E.G. BIRTH OF WEB, LHC... Search Search | en enfr About CERN At CERN, we probe the fundamental structure of the particles that make up everything around us. We do so using the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments. About CERN At CERN, we probe the fundamental structure of the particles that make up everything around us. We do so using the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments. About CERN At CERN, we probe the fundamental structure of the particles that make up everything around us. We do so using the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments. About CERN At CERN, we probe the fundamental structure of the particles that make up everything around us. We do so using the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments. About CERN At CERN, we probe the fundamental structure of the particles that make up everything around us. We do so using the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments. prevnext Physicists and engineers at CERN use the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments to study the basic constituents of matter – fundamental particles. Subatomic particles are made to collide together at close to the speed of light. The process gives us clues about how the particles interact, and provides insights into the fundamental laws of nature. We want to advance the boundaries of human knowledge by delving into the smallest building blocks of our universe. (Video: CERN)The instruments used at CERN are purpose-built particle accelerators and detectors. Accelerators boost beams of particles to high energies before the beams are made to collide with each other or with stationary targets. Detectors observe and record the results of these collisions. Founded in 1954, the CERN laboratory sits astride the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva. It was one of Europe's first joint ventures and now has 23 member states. What does “CERN” stand for? At an intergovernmental meeting of UNESCO in Paris in December 1951, the first resolution concerning the establishment of a European Council for Nuclear Research (in French Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire) was adopted. Two months later, an agreement was signed establishing the provisional Council – the acronym CERN was born. Today, our understanding of matter goes much deeper than the nucleus, and CERN's main area of research is particle physics. Because of this, the laboratory operated by CERN is often referred to as the European Laboratory for Particle Physics. Learn more about CERN’s history What is the LHC? The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator. It first started up on 10 September 2008, and remains the latest addition to CERN’s accelerator complex. The LHC consists of a 27-kilometre ring of superconducting magnets with a number of accelerating structures to boost the energy of the particles along the way. The beams inside the LHC are made to collide at four locations around the accelerator ring, corresponding to the positions of four particle detectors – ATLAS, CMS, ALICE and LHCb. Learn more about the Large Hadron Collider More FAQs Facts and figures about the LHC CERN answers queries from social media Why do physicists mention “five sigma” in their results? View all FAQs HOW DO WE HELP SOCIETY? Accelerators Detectors Computing More about our impact Behind these three pillars of technology, lies a great number of areas of expertise: from cryogenics to ultra-high vacuums, from particle tracking and radiation monitoring to superconductivity and many more. These technologies and the human expertise associated with them are translated into positive impacts on society in many different fields. 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