The FCC, Half a Century On
The article reflects on the Future Circular Collider (FCC) project, examining its potential timeline and impact roughly half a century after initial conceptual discussions. It explores how the FCC could succeed the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, continuing high-energy physics research into the latter half of the 21st century.
Background
This article from *CERN Courier* discusses the proposed **Future Circular Collider (FCC)** — a gigantic 91-km particle accelerator ring that CERN wants to build after the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) shuts down.
- **CERN**: European particle-physics lab near Geneva. Its LHC discovered the Higgs boson in 2012 and runs until ~2041.
- **The FCC plan**: First an electron-positron collider (FCC-ee) for ultra-precise measurements of Higgs, W, and Z bosons. Later a proton collider (FCC-hh) reaching ~100 TeV — 7× the LHC's energy.
- **Cost & timeline**: €15–20 billion. Feasibility report due 2025; CERN council vote in 2028. Construction would take decades, mirroring how the LHC took ~25 years from conception to first beam.
- **Why it matters**: This is the defining debate in particle physics. Rivals include a US-proposed muon collider and China's planned CEPC Higgs factory. The FCC decision will determine the field's direction for half a century.