A new CERN experiment targets even higher energies (eventually)

The AWAKE experiment at CERN made a breakthrough at the end of last year. A long-term technology-development project, its aim is to drag electrons through a plasma, behind a beam of protons, and provide a route to higher energies than the Large Hadron Collider

High-energy particle beams have multiple uses. In general, a controlled beam of high-energy particles can be used to smash things up - for example tumours or protons - or study them at high resolution, revealing the structure of molecules and materials, or indeed new fundamental physics such as the Higgs boson.

The challenges involved in producing a useful beam are various, and depend on the type of particle and what you want to use the beam for. One common limitation is the size and cost of the machine, and another is the steepness of the accelerating voltage gradient.