SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68172162
Researchers at the world's biggest particle accelerator in Switzerland have submitted proposals for a new, much larger, supercollider. Its aim is to discover new particles that would revolutionise physics and lead to a more complete understanding of how the Universe works. If approved, it will be three times larger than the current giant machine. But its £12bn price tag has raised some eyebrows, with one critic describing the expenditure as "reckless".
The biggest achievement of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) was the detection of a new particle called the Higgs Boson in 2012. But since then its ambition to track down two holy grails of physics - dark matter and dark energy - have proved elusive and some researchers believe there are cheaper options. The new machine is called the Future Circular Collider (FCC). Cern's director general, Prof Fabiola Gianotti, told BBC News that, if approved, it will be a "beautiful machine".
[...] The proposal is for the larger FCC to be built in two stages. The first will begin operating in the mid 2040s and will collide electrons together. It is hoped the increased energy will produce large numbers of Higgs particles for scientists to study in detail.
The second phase will begin in the 2070s and require more powerful magnets, so advanced that they have not yet been invented. Instead of electrons, heavier protons will be used in the search for brand new particles.
(Score: 1) by lush7 on Thursday February 08 2024, @12:35AM
I'm of the mind that Quantum Physics is wrong. It works for certain things, within a certain domain; but, eventually, there will still be gaps and holes, because it's flawed.
I suppose, even if it is flawed, it might be possible to continue filling in gaps. However for me, the Higgs completes the Standard Model. It's done. That was the last piece. We had Earth Wind Water, and now we have Fire. It's time for some new science.
Science is locked up behind way too many paywalls. It's just way too much wretch and no vomit.
I dunno what the fix is, but... At the way things are going, I think the silicon sentients will figure things out before we do... Especially if the global trend in autocracy around the world is any indication of our intelligence, collectively as a species.
Even if they do build this thing, and it does find something... We found the Higgs!? It was the holy grail, wasn't it? Where is the new science and technology?
Perhaps we need to go back to the future, and find out where we went wrong. :p