The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the largest particle collider in the world, will again become operational in early 2015. It's expected to make new breakthrough discoveries on a magnitude similar to its discovery of the Higgs boson particle, also known as the God particle.

The Higgs boson particle is responsible for giving mass to sub-atomic particles. It's also the smallest particle to be detected and exists for less than a septillionth of a second.

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Now, scientists hope the atom smasher can make more crucial scientific discoveries that may soon solve more mysteries of the universe.

In February 2013, the LHC was shut down to begin a series of upgrades to double its power. The collider's two proton beams that measure less than one third of a human hair will now possess energy equivalent to 154 tons of explosives. The upgrade took over two years and cost more than US$150 million.

When the collider doubles its energy and power, it will be even more instrumental in the search for new particles since heavier particles can be created with higher energy, said Gabriella Sciolla, an experimental particle physicist who is part of the ATLAS experiment in CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Switzerland.

Scientists and experts believe that when the LHC starts to use its added power, it will lead in the investigation of other theoretical particles such as the elusive and invisible dark matter that remains one of astrophysics' main mysteries.

The LHC restart will open the door to new discoveries of the particles comprising dark matter, which constitutes 84 percent of all matter in the universe. This will allow scientists to increase the range of masses found in dark matter so smaller particles can be examined, according to Andrew Lankford, who also works on the ATLAS experiment with the LHC at CERN.

The upgraded LHC can also produce microscopic black holes. Other kinds of Higgs bosons with different mass and charges stand to be discovered.

CERN will conduct its first collisions with the collider in May 2015.

TagsLarge Hadron Collider Set to Discover New Particles from Higgs Boson and Dark Matter, Large Hadron Collider, LHC, God particle, higgs boson particle, dark matter, CERN