The September/October 2026 issue of the CERN Courier is out
In his landmark 1945 report Science, the Endless Frontier, Vannevar Bush argued that basic research is the fund from which applications, and with them prosperity, are drawn. Eight decades on, the High-Luminosity LHC is expected to return to society nearly twice its cost, before a single discovery is counted. The largest share comes from the skills […]
The September/October 2026 issue of the CERN Courier has been released, according to CERN Courier's announcement on September 17, 2026. In their latest edition, Vannevar Bush's 1945 report, "Science, the Endless Frontier," is revisited, emphasizing the importance of basic research for future applications and economic prosperity.
The High-Luminosity LHC is projected to return nearly double its cost to society before any discoveries are made. A significant portion of this return is attributed to the skills researchers gain and bring into the wider economy, while technological spillovers follow closely behind. The LHC required a large-scale industrial production of superconductors, which ultimately traces back to a single mercury sample cooled by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes in 1911.
This issue also examines lattice quantum chromodynamics, a method that simulates the strong force within a finite, discrete box. Recent calculations have narrowed down the strong coupling constant to a mere five parts per thousand. Samuel Ting, a renowned physicist, shares his lifelong dedication to refining measurements. His Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer instrument has gathered over 265 billion cosmic rays, revealing patterns in their spectra that current models struggle to explain.
Written by urgent.news from CERN's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
