Introduction to Cosmology

Sustained development of particle accelerators was always made possible by adopting emerging technologies. Superconductivity and its ancillary cryogenics are today the key technologies to produce high fields with low energy dissipation in accelerating cavities and magnets, opening the way to increased performance while containing size and cost of the machines. The main challenges and benefits of superconductivity and cryogenics in accelerators will be illustrated by the case of the LHC, now in construction at CERN. Prospects of superconducting accelerators beyond the LHC will also be discussed.