Nature:
The International Linear Collider (ILC) is a proposed
31-km-long particle accelerator that will collide electrons and
positrons. The primary goal will be to gain a clearer picture
of the nature of the Higgs particle. CERN's Large Hadron
Collider uses proton collisions that create a massive amount of
scattered particles. The ILC's
electronâpositron collisions will result in
much cleaner scattering. Japan, which lost its bid for ITER to
France, is the leading candidate for hosting the facility. With
extra funding available from its post-earthquake and tsunami
reconstruction efforts and multiparty political support, Japan
is making a concerted effort to win the project. Two sites on
the island nation are being considered, both of which would
have the collider built into the side of a mountain, not buried
under flat ground as with other accelerators. However, with a
projected cost between $7 billion and $8 billion, and with the
US and Europe still recovering from economic downturns, the
biggest roadblock to the project will be getting funding.
