CERN’s President Says China Can Build The World’s Biggest Atom Smasher

China finds itself in the midst of a vigorous discussion regarding the creation of the largest particle collider globally, with esteemed physicist Eliezer Rabinovici endorsing China’s capability for such an immense undertaking.

The proposed Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC), estimated at 36 billion yuan ($5 billion), aims to surpass current particle accelerator benchmarks and assert itself as a premier force in particle physics exploration. Spearheaded by Wang Yifang, the CEPC project sets its sights on being a “Higgs factory,” generating countless Higgs bosons through energetic collisions to unlock fresh perspectives in particle physics.

Nevertheless, the CEPC project has ignited internal deliberation within China’s scientific circles. Nobel laureate Yang Chen-Ning has expressed reservations, querying the necessity of such a colossal initiative and proposing that China channel its efforts towards economic and environmental concerns instead of constructing a supercollider.

Rabinovici, in contrast, rebuts this stance, underscoring China’s scientific prowess and the widespread backing for the CEPC project from numerous scientists worldwide, including those from the United States and Europe.

“Over the years, many Chinese physicists have worked at CERN and have gained some knowledge and experience. These people are very capable,” Rabinovici added.

Despite apprehensions about reallocating funds from other social and scientific imperatives, proponents of the CEPC project argue that China possesses the financial wherewithal to embark on it, with the primary challenge lying in the judicious utilization of scientific funding.

Calling it a “bottomless pit,” Yang  has also pointed out that  the project would “would squeeze funding for other urgent social issues and other areas of science.”

Wang Yifang has underscored the prospective long-term advantages of the CEPC, suggesting that its average expenditure would not be exorbitant given the extensive research avenues it would offer to myriad scientists over numerous years.

The comprehensive technical blueprint for the CEPC, compiled by more than 1,000 scientists from 24 nations over a five-year span, has garnered widespread international acclaim and endorsement from the physics community.

As the project awaits the government’s final verdict, Wang remains sanguine about its prospects, with construction slated to commence within three years. The CEPC initiative signifies a significant stride forward for Chinese science, epitomizing the nation’s burgeoning prominence in the domain of particle physics and its steadfast dedication to advancing the frontiers of scientific inquiry on a global scale.