CERN and its 70-year journey to discover the mysteries of the universe and science

On October 1, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) celebrated its 70th anniversary.

The research center, which houses the world's largest particle accelerator, is renowned for its groundbreaking scientific discoveries, with the goal of unlocking cosmic mysteries such as dark matter and dark energy, and affirming the role of science in promoting peace in a world filled with conflict.

Over the past 70 years, CERN (located on the Swiss-French border) has become a household name to the international community. The research organization's discoveries have changed the world and humanity's view of the universe.

CERN is known as the home of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). (Photo: AP).

CERN was founded in 1951 as part of a United Nations effort to create a leading European physics research center. Construction of CERN's headquarters began on May 17, 1954. Today, CERN is primarily known as the home of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

Considered the world's largest machine, the LHC uses a network of magnets to accelerate particles through a 27km underground ring around Geneva, Switzerland, and collide them at nearly the speed of light. By collecting and interpreting the results of these collisions, which occur billions of times per second, scientists will be able to gain a deeper understanding of fundamental physics.

According to CERN, collisions in the LHC generate temperatures 100,000 times higher than the core of the Sun, on a small scale and in a controlled environment.

Speaking at the 70th anniversary celebration attended by leaders from 24 member states, CERN Director General Fabiola Gianotti said: "At the accelerator, every day, we can recreate the conditions of the primordial universe just one millionth of a millionth of a second after the Big Bang."  

Over the years, CERN and its laboratories have evolved into a giant research centre with applications in many areas of science and industry. One of CERN's most important discoveries was the confirmation of the existence of the Higgs boson in 2012. This is an incredibly small subatomic particle that had been theorised decades ago and CERN's discovery completed the Standard Model of particle physics, helping us to better understand how the universe formed and works.

Not only that, CERN is also where the World Wide Web was born. In 1989, British scientist Tim Berners-Lee at CERN created the first web protocol to help universities and research institutes share information. By 1993, CERN had opened the source code to the world, starting the information revolution that we use on our smartphones and computers every day.

The scientific achievements of CERN are not just theoretical. Thousands of small particle accelerators are operating around the world, with wide-ranging applications in fields such as medicine and high-tech manufacturing. Crystals developed for CERN experiments some 40 years ago are now widely used in PET scans to detect early signs of health problems such as cancer and heart disease.

Speaking at the ceremony, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed: 'Thanks to CERN we have touch screens. Thanks to CERN we have new tools to fight cancer. Scientists here are always working with European industries to build low-emission aircraft, or create new solutions for transporting liquid hydrogen. CERN is living proof that science drives innovation and innovation drives competitiveness.' Ms. von der Leyen also stated that she wants to increase spending on research in the next fiscal year's European Union (EU) budget.

CERN is currently working on two major projects. The High Luminosity LHC project aims to increase the number of particle collisions starting in 2029. The second, longer-term project is the Future Collider (FCC), which is estimated to cost 15 billion Swiss francs (about $17.2 billion) and is expected to be operational in its first phase in 2040.

CERN currently has 19 member states, including EU countries, Britain, Israel, Norway, Serbia and Switzerland, while the US and Japan join the EU and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as observers.

One of CERN's biggest goals for the future is to unlock the mysteries of dark energy and dark matter, the two elements that make up the bulk of the mass and energy in the universe. Scientists at CERN are working to explain why the universe is expanding so rapidly and to learn about the nature of dark matter, an invisible substance that makes up 27% of the total mass in the universe. CERN continues to affirm the role of science for peace, opening new doors to explore the unknown of the universe and bringing technological advances to serve the common good of the world.