LHC en unos pocos números

Abstract

LHC-Large Hadron Collider (CERN - European Organization for Nuclear Research) became the world's highest energy particle accelerator, having accelerated its twin beams of protons to an energy of 1.18 TeV in the last days of 2009. Some important questions to be answered by the LHC experiments are: What is the origin of mass? What is 96% of the universe made of? Why is there no more antimatter? What was matter like within the first second of the Universe's life? The aim of this paper is to introduce LHC in few numbers in order to be directly used in the secondary school classroom, and to stimulate the students' interest in the greatest experiment in history. Besides, using these simple calculations we can introduce or remember to our students, and in a easier way, some important physics topics. Although a previous basic knowledge about LHC would make easier reading this paper, the necessary data and parameters are included to allow to follow the explanations properly. Moreover, we hope that these data and calculations help you to know better this incredible machine.