What does ‘luminosity’ mean in particle physics? – Phys.Org

Even on the hottest and driest days, rays from the sun are too weak to ignite a fire. But with a magnifying glass (or, in some unfortunate cases, a glass garden ornament), you can focus sunlight into a beam bright enough to set tinder ablaze.
At the Large Hadron Collider, scientists apply this same principle when focusing beams of protons (or sometimes heavy ions) before passing them through the accelerator’s four collision points. High-energy particle collisions allow scientists to study the fundamental…

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