Large Hadron Collider discovers a new particle | Current Affairs | Vision IAS

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In Summary

  • LHC discovered the new particle Xi-cc-plus, composed of two charm quarks and one down quark, four times heavier than a proton.
  • The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN is a 27-km underground particle accelerator used to study fundamental physics.
  • CERN, founded in 1954 on the Franco-Swiss border, is a leading research center with 25 member states, including India as an associate member.

In Summary

Previously, LHC has discovered key particles such as Higgs Boson(2012), Exotic hadrons (Particles composed of four or five quarks), Rare B- meson decay, etc. 

About the New Particle Xi-cc-plus

  •  It is made up of two charm quarks and one down quark,similar to proton (made up of two up quarks and one down quark).

o Quarks are fundamental building blocks of matter and come in six flavours: up, down, charm, strange, top and bottom.

Quarks are always found in combination and never occur in a free state.

  • The replacement of charm quarks with up quarks makes its mass four times heavier than proton.

About Large Hadron Collider (LHC)

  • LHC is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator which operates in a tunnel 100 metersunderground at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
  • Structure: It 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.
  • Functioning: Inside the accelerator, two high-energy particle beams of protons or ions travel at close to the speed of lightbefore they are made to collide.

o These collisions produce particles and fields necessary for fundamental understanding of nature such as mass, unification of forces, dark energy and dark matter,etc.

About CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research)

  •  Located on Franco-Swiss border near Geneva, it is the world's largest centres for scientific research in fundamental physics using advanced particle accelerators.
  • Founded: in 1954.
  • Members: 25 member states (India is an associate member).
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RELATED TERMS

3

Particle accelerator

A device that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to very high speeds and energies. They are crucial tools for fundamental physics research, allowing scientists to study subatomic particles and their interactions.

Charm quarks

One of the six 'flavors' of quarks. The replacement of charm quarks with up quarks in a particle can significantly increase its mass, as illustrated by the Xi-cc-plus particle compared to a proton.

CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research)

An international organization that operates the LHC and serves as a leading global center for fundamental physics research using particle accelerators. India is an associate member.

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