The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator, located at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland. It was built to explore fundamental questions about the universe by colliding protons at nearly the speed of light, allowing scientists to study the resulting particles and forces.
Since its inception in 2008, the LHC has made significant discoveries, including the observation of the Higgs boson, a particle that helps explain how other particles acquire mass. The LHC continues to be a vital tool for physicists, pushing the boundaries of our understanding of matter and the universe.