Answering these questions is the goal of experimental particle physics. In this field, large accelerators are used to force particles to collide at extremely high energies. Higher energy particles have a smaller wavelength and can therefore be used to probe smaller distance scales in order to resolve small-scale structure. Also, higher energy collisions make it possible to produce and study the properties of heavier particles in the lab. In addition to high energies, high intensity beams can be used to discover and study ultra rare processes.
