The Large Hadron Collider (LHC)
It would be good to introduce to you an interesting modern day structure which involves an amazing work with particles in the Universe- the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)
If you don't know by now, the LHC is the largest high-energy particle accelerator in the world, used by physicists to test theories of particle physics and high-energy physics. It is located near Geneva, at the border between France and Switzerland, about 100m underground and 27 kilometers long. CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), maintains this structure.
What does it do?
It would be extremely complicated to explain fully, but basically, it tests the laws about the forces and interactions among objects. This huge tunnel is used by international physicists to recreate energies found in particles just immediately (billionths of seconds!) after the Big Bang, so that we can uncover new matter and learn about the origins of the Universe.
How does it work?
Inside the accelerator, two beams of particles travel at speeds close to the speed of light in opposite directions, directed by electromagnets, till they come back round to collide with one another, releasing extreme amounts of energy. You may think that this is too small a work for so big a structure. Well, making two tiny particles collide is as easy as causing two needles to collide at the tips- 10 km apart one another!
The tunnel is just one story. 4 huge chambers house numerous sophisticated detectors located at different points around the tunnel to record data. Also, the Grid is a network of tens of thousands of computers located all over the world for scientists to share their findings in the LHC.
What does it do?
It would be extremely complicated to explain fully, but basically, it tests the laws about the forces and interactions among objects. This huge tunnel is used by international physicists to recreate energies found in particles just immediately (billionths of seconds!) after the Big Bang, so that we can uncover new matter and learn about the origins of the Universe.
How does it work?
Inside the accelerator, two beams of particles travel at speeds close to the speed of light in opposite directions, directed by electromagnets, till they come back round to collide with one another, releasing extreme amounts of energy. You may think that this is too small a work for so big a structure. Well, making two tiny particles collide is as easy as causing two needles to collide at the tips- 10 km apart one another!
The tunnel is just one story. 4 huge chambers house numerous sophisticated detectors located at different points around the tunnel to record data. Also, the Grid is a network of tens of thousands of computers located all over the world for scientists to share their findings in the LHC.
Explore this external applet to learn how two particles collide in the LHC
(click on the picture)
Hope this short overview of the Large Hadron Collider has inspired your interest in particle physics