To be operated for a couple of more months this year, the LHC will go through a maintenance and upgrade phase starting March that will bring the atom smasher up to speed with its maximum energy levels, which will enable scientists to carry out more discoveries even greater than the current ones like the Higgs Boson.
James Gillies, chief spokesman for CERN said that when the collider reopens in early 2015, scientists will be able to observe more rare phenomena as well as unlock more mysteries. Gillies told AFP on Friday that the shutdown will enable engineers to lay superconducting cables in huge numbers thereby bringing the machine up to "full design energy."
Gillies said, "It will bring you more collisions. Which means that the more collisions you have, the more likely you are to see rare events."
"The Higgs particle was just one of many on the wish list that we'd like to find, so higher energy increases your discovery potential", he added.
The LHC will cost over $40 million to repair and upgrade. Launched back in 2008, the collider saw a 14 months shutdown only to be restarted back in November 2009. Since the restart, the LHC has worked flawlessly providing valuable data.
