Learn about five of the largest particle accelerators on Earth, which, as of 2026, are led by the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

At the Large Hadron Collider, protons are accelerated so close to the speed of light that they would lag behind a laser by just 10 feet after 14 minutes of travel.

The most common type of particle accelerator is a linear electron accelerator, which fires particles in a straight line, making them useful for the intense, targeted beams needed in cancer treatment.

Cathode-ray tube televisions are examples of electron accelerators

CRT TVs work by converting electricity into heat, which causes electrons to be emitted from the rear of the device in three beams responsible for the colors red, green, and blue. Electromagnets direct electrons to phosphor molecules on the screen, which emit light and illuminate the pixels.

If particle accelerators did create black holes by packing tremendous energy into a small volume, then trillions would be created in Earth's atmosphere daily by cosmic rays.

Before 1932, when particle accelerators were first used for nuclear research, scientists relied on naturally radioactive substances to advance their understanding of the atomic nucleus.

Although built from 1996 to 2008, the Large Hadron Collider relies on accelerators built starting in 1954 to help bring protons to 99.9999991% the speed of light—about 2.73 million football fields per second.

As of 2023, the world's smallest particle accelerator is smaller than a penny

The prototype is an example of a photonic accelerator, which utilizes tiny lasers to accelerate electrons rather than relying on oscillating electromagnetic fields to move them. It can deliver about 1 electron per second with energies equivalent to those found in cathode-ray tube televisions.

The first circular particle accelerator was narrower than the average cereal bowl

The 1939 Nobel Prize in physics was awarded to Ernest Lawrence for inventing the cyclotron. By comparison, the Large Hadron Collider is 5 miles in diameter and is the largest cryogenic system in the world, cooling its electromagnets to temperatures colder than those found in outer space.

Cyclotrons move particles in spiral paths of increasing radius

After particles are injected into the center of the device, an alternating electric field and a constant magnetic field energize the particles as they spiral outward toward a target. Cyclotrons are common in hospitals that perform molecular imaging, which relies on radioactive components that decay within hours.

The High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider will provide a tenfold increase in particle collisions compared with the initial LHC infrastructure by increasing the number of ions in collision bundles and by concentrating the ion beams.

At CERN's Antimatter Factory, researchers create and guide antiprotons and antielectrons together to form antihydrogen, and all these antiparticles are analyzed to help scientists study the behavior of antimatter.

Particle accelerators detect subatomic particles using millions of sensors

Calorimeters measure the energy of particles. Tracking devices can measure momentum and charge from the trajectory of particles, which is determined by recording tiny electrical signals. Time-of-flight detectors provide particle velocities directly and particle mass indirectly, giving physicists a suite of properties to compare with those of known matter.

It may be possible to create dark matter in particle accelerators

In high-energy collisions, exotic forms of matter can be produced by directly converting energy into mass according to *E = mc*². Even though a dark matter particle would not be directly observable, its creation would result in unaccounted-for mass, which can be compared to potential dark matter candidates for indirect detection.

Watch an animated visualization of how the Large Hadron Collider works, including how particles are accelerated through a series of machines and how collision data is collected and distributed worldwide.

More than 97% of the world's particle accelerators are used for commercial purposes

Only a few hundred of the over 30,000 particle accelerators worldwide are used for research. Most are involved in medical imaging and treatment, food sterilization, semiconductor processing, cargo screening, and radioisotope production. They're also used to modify the properties of polymers.

Some cosmic rays possess energies as high as 100,000,000 teraelectron volts—more than 10 million times the energy of particles accelerated in the Large Hadron Collider.

A beam of neutrinos can be created by firing a beam of high-energy protons at a target to produce unstable particles that decay into neutrinos.

Despite fears of creating black holes, the Large Hadron Collider produces collisions with energies of 13.6 trillion electronvolts, about one million times smaller than the energy needed to create the lightest possible black holes.

Explore the components of the linear particle accelerator at Los Alamos

Located at the site of bomb design and development for the Manhattan Project, LANSCE features an injector system for hydrogen ions, a series of tanks with alternating electric fields for proton acceleration, and an isotope production facility that creates radioisotopes for medical treatments.

At the Large Hadron Collider, scientists have transformed lead into gold—a process known as chrysopoeia, which alchemists sought for centuries.

Antimatter particles possess the same mass and spin as their normal particle counterparts, but possess an opposite charge and transform into pure energy upon colliding with normal matter.

Particle beams can be used to alter the surface properties of artificial joints

Surface hardening and embedding specific elements or coatings can improve the biocompatibility and bone tissue integration of these implants. Particle accelerators are significant sources of the radioisotopes needed in medical diagnostics, and microwave linear accelerators are used in the majority of cancer irradiation treatments.

Cosmic rays are thought to be accelerated to near the speed of light by repeatedly bouncing across shockwaves produced by high-energy cosmic events, such as supernovae.

Antimatter was discovered by examining debris from collisions between atmospheric gases and cosmic rays—high-energy matter particles from space.

Antimatter can be created from dark lightning—high-energy light emitted by deflected electrons after they are accelerated to near the speed of light by thunderstorms.

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second.

The Large Hadron Collider repurposed an excavation tunnel built for the Large Electron-Positron Collider, which was used until 2000 and whose construction involved the largest civil engineering project in Europe before the Channel Tunnel.

Within ALICE—A Large Ion Collider Experiment—at the Large Hadron Collider, scientists have created quark-gluon plasma—an exotic form of matter present in the moments after the Big Bang.

As of 2026, 75 of the 86 particles discovered by the Large Hadron Collider have been found by the LHCb experiment—a detector that explores the decay of particles made of beauty and charm quarks.

Depictions of antimatter in science fiction include misleading portrayals of it coming from parallel universes, being mined from asteroids, and serving as a workable laser beam.

Scientists can create movies of atomic and molecular phenomena using X-ray free-electron lasers, in which images are produced by matter being struck by high-intensity light created by accelerating electrons.

In an X-ray free-electron laser, electromagnetic fields are used to accelerate and move electrons in wiggling patterns, causing them to emit synchronized, high-energy X-rays. This resulting light beam can strike targets up to 120 times per second to create movies of changing molecular structures and phenomena.

In 2026, researchers successfully transported antimatter in a truck using a portable trap that employed electromagnetic fields to hold 92 antiprotons.

Each year, the Large Hadron Collider undergoes a winter shutdown—when electricity costs are highest—and bringing it back online requires weeks of tests, including some involving high-energy particles from outer space.

Particle detection has evolved from cloud and bubble chambers to digital 3D displays

As invisible particles passed through cloud and bubble chambers, they disrupted supersaturated vapor and superheated liquid, respectively, creating trails that served as proxies for cosmic rays. The transition from photographed events to digital sensors enhanced data collection and accuracy.

Scientists have determined the properties of cosmic rays by analyzing their trajectories in bubble chambers—containers filled with a vapor that clings to charged particles.

Particles produced in cosmic ray showers that would normally decay long before they reach Earth's surface are observed in ground-based detectors because they experience time more slowly when moving near the speed of light—a phenomenon predicted by special relativity.

If they could be built, antimatter drives, which run on energy released from the collision of matter and antimatter particles, would be the most efficient engines in existence.

At the CERN Control Center, where the Large Hadron Collider and connected accelerators are managed, champagne bottles from parties commemorating major milestones, such as the first collisions or a new record energy, are collected.