Scientists behind the European atom smasher aimed at uncovering the secrets of the universe want to build an even bigger machine with partners and funds from around the world.
Scientists from CERN – the European Organisation for Nuclear Research – a particle physics laboratory outside Geneva, Switzerland, will spell out their ambitions at a conference in Paris today.
They are reaching out to China, India and Russia to help fund the next £8.5 billion step of the project, according to Guy Wormser, a leading particle physicist and one of the conference organisers.
Instead of whirling atoms in giant rings, as CERN’s Large Hadron Collider and the smaller Tevatron at Fermilab, near Chicago, do, scientists want a new-generation machine that will shoot them straight.