Status of the large hadron collider (LHC)

The large hadron collider (LHC), commissioned on 2007, provides particle physics with the first laboratory tool to access the energy frontier above 1 TeV. In order to achieve this, protons must be accelerated and stored at 7 TeV, colliding with an unprecedented luminosity of 10/sup 34/ cm/sup -2/ s/sup -1/. The 8.3 Tesla guide field is obtained using conventional NbTi technology cooled to below the lambda point of helium. The machine is now well into its installation phase, with first beam injection foreseen in spring 2007. A brief status report is given and future prospects are discussed.