With the aim of creating the “God Particle,” China is preparing to build a circular particle accelerator in a 100 km long underground tunnel.
Circular Electron-Positron Collider (CEPC), also known as the Higgs Factory, is a $5 billion project that will take approximately 10 years to construct and become the next global hub for particle physics, according to Wang Yifang, director of the Institute of High Energy Physics in Beijing, as reported by Interesting Engineering on March 8. By accelerating electrons and their antiparticles, positrons, in a 100 km underground tunnel to extremely high energy levels and allowing them to collide, CEPC will generate millions of Higgs bosons, enabling scientists to make new discoveries beyond the Standard Model, the best current hypothesis to describe the fundamental building blocks of the universe.
Inside the particle accelerator tunnel. (Photo: iStock).
This ambitious project will also help China rise to the forefront of the world and lead in the field of high-energy physics. According to Wang, the technical design report for CEPC involved 1,000 scientists from 24 countries and took 5 years to complete. It has passed international review and addressed feedback from the physics community after its release in December of last year.
The report, combined with many prototype devices manufactured and tested over the past decade, demonstrates China’s capability to design and construct such a large scientific facility. The idea of building CEPC was first proposed by Wang and his team in 2012 after the Higgs boson, also known as the “God Particle,” which gives mass to almost all other particles, was discovered using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Europe.
While the Higgs boson is believed to be key to breakthroughs in fundamental physics, there are many skeptics regarding the high costs and the technological readiness of CEPC. Wang acknowledges that $5 billion is not a trivial expense. However, if CEPC can support research for thousands of scientists in the coming decades, the average cost will not be high. According to the technical design report, authorities are considering funding sources, with expected contributions from the central government, local governments, and international partners.
Construction of CEPC is currently in the technical design phase, which includes mass production and assembly of accelerator components, as well as optimizing their performance and cost-effectiveness. Wang’s team will also soon finalize the location for CEPC. He stated that a comprehensive assessment will be based on geological conditions, transportation, and infrastructure, as CEPC will welcome scientists from around the world and needs to consider factors such as children’s education.
Potential locations include: Qinhuangdao in Hebei Province, Huzhou in Zhejiang Province, and Changsha in Hunan Province. Meanwhile, in Europe, a similar project called the Future Circular Collider will succeed the Large Hadron Collider. Currently the largest particle accelerator in the world, the LHC has a circumference of 27 km. The circumference of the Future Circular Collider could reach 100 km with a cost of $23 billion.
