Controversy surrounds the world’s largest particle accelerator project

China is considering building a circular electron positron accelerator (CEPC) that would surpass the capabilities of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) operated by CERN in Switzerland and France. The construction of CEPC would come at a high cost, but could potentially lead to groundbreaking discoveries for decades to come. Eliezer Rabinovici, a physics professor and president of CERN, believes that Chinese scientists have the capability to create the largest particle accelerator on Earth.

The proposal for CEPC has sparked controversy within China’s scientific community, with physicist Yang Chen-ning being a vocal opponent of the project. Yang argues that China should focus on more pressing issues such as economic development and environmental protection instead of investing in a super particle accelerator. However, proponents of the project, including Wang Yifang, director of the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) in Beijing, believe that the potential scientific advancements from CEPC justify the cost.

The research team at IHEP has garnered international recognition for their work and the design of the CEPC project. By accelerating electrons and positrons to high energies and colliding them, the accelerator could generate millions of Higgs bosons, leading to new discoveries beyond the standard model of particle physics. While the construction of CEPC would require significant funding, proponents argue that the long-term benefits for scientific research and advancement outweigh the costs.

China has been deliberating on the feasibility of building CEPC for nearly a decade. While the project has its detractors who question the allocation of resources, there is growing support for the initiative within the scientific community. Wang Yifang is optimistic that construction of the super particle accelerator could commence within the next three years pending government approval and funding. Despite the challenges associated with such a massive undertaking, the potential for cutting-edge scientific discoveries and advancements motivates proponents to push forward with the project.