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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Ulrik Egede and Tessa Charles

Inside multi-billion dollar plan to build new tunnel under the Swiss Alps

  • Scientists have unveiled a 70-year plan to build a massive, 91km tunnel under the Swiss Alps to house the Future Circular Collider (FCC).
  • The FCC, more than three times larger than the current Large Hadron Collider, will collide electrons and positrons in its first stage for precise Higgs boson measurements.
  • The second stage involves colliding protons at much higher energies than the LHC, potentially uncovering new particles and addressing fundamental physics questions like dark matter and the matter-antimatter imbalance.
  • The project's estimated cost is around $18 billion for the first stage, with a significant portion allocated for tunnel construction.
  • While costly, the FCC is expected to yield scientific advancements and technological spin-offs, similar to the LHC's contributions to medical technology and software.

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