How do particle colliders work?

image via Space.com

September 23, 2025, 1:00 PM

• •Particle accelerators accelerate subatomic particles to high speeds.
• •They smash these particles into targets to achieve desired effects.
• •Early accelerators used electric fields.
• •Modern accelerators like the LHC use magnetic fields in a circular design.

Particle accelerators, also known as particle colliders or atom smashers, accelerate subatomic particles to incredibly high speeds to smash them into tiny targets, like atomic nuclei. These devices have been crucial in major physics discoveries, such as the Higgs boson. Early accelerators were simple, using electric fields to accelerate electrons, with advancements leading to linear and circular colliders. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a prime example, using powerful magnetic fields to keep particles moving at near-light speeds to study the fundamental operations of nature.

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