Editing Collider (section)

{{Short description|Type of particle accelerator that performs particle collisions}}
{{About|the particle accelerator|other uses|Collider (disambiguation)}}

A '''collider''' is a type of [[particle accelerator]] that brings two opposing [[particle beam]]s together such that the particles [[Collision|collide]].<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://news.fnal.gov/2013/08/fixed-target-vs-collider/|title = Fixed-target vs. Collider|date = 2 August 2013|access-date = 17 December 2019|archive-date = 21 January 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220121054434/https://news.fnal.gov/2013/08/fixed-target-vs-collider/|url-status = dead}}</ref> Compared to other particle accelerators in which the moving particles collide with a stationary matter target, colliders can achieve higher collision energies.  Colliders may either be [[ring accelerator]]s or [[linear accelerator]]s.  

Colliders are used as a research tool in [[particle physics]] by accelerating particles to very high [[kinetic energy]] and letting them impact other particles. Analysis of the byproducts of these collisions gives scientists good evidence of the structure of the subatomic world and the laws of nature governing it. These may become apparent only at high energies and for extremely short periods of time, and therefore may be hard or impossible to study in other ways.