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In particle physics, NLC or Next Linear Collider is a long-term project for a new, powerful accelerator that should be built after the LHC.

There are two basic shapes of accelerators: linear accelerators, such as the accelerator in SLAC and NLC, accelerate the elementary particles along a straight path. The circular accelerators, such as Tevatron, LEP, LHC, use a circular orbit.

The particle accelerators either accelerate pairs of protons (like LHC) or a proton- antiproton pairs (like Tevatron); or electrons and positrons (like LEP, SLAC, and NLC). The advantage of the proton/antiproton accelerators is a higher accessible energy (because protons are heavier); the advantage of electron accelerators are more accurate results (because there are no strong interactions inside an electron, unlike the protons).

In this sense, the data provided by the LHC and the NLC may be complementary.

External links

• Karl Van Bibber about the NLC