It occurs to me that many (if not most) of you are unfamiliar with the lab I am working at and what they are working on. I’m going to try to change that! If you aren’t usually one for a big dose of science, I ask that you stick with me. I am going to do my best to explain things in a way that everyone can understand. And it’ll be worth it, because scientists are doing completely mind-blowing things here.
If you are more curious and would like to learn more, I encourage you to follow some of the links I include! They will provide more detailed information. There is also a list of interesting links at the end, so you have that to look forward to.
New to particle physics? Brush up here!
What is CERN?
CERN, or the European Organization for Nuclear Research, was founded in 1954. This multi-national endeavor is the world’s largest particle physics lab. It sits on the border between France and Switzerland, just outside of Geneva. It has about 2,500 permanent staff members, and annually hosts well over an additional 10,000 other visiting scientists and students.
CERN is in no way connected to military research of any kind. Any experiments that take place there pursue answers to questions in fundamental physics, and all records are 100% public.
CERN is home to a large number of experiments that focus on topics such as antimatter, dark matter, the composition of hadrons, supersymmetry, etc.
Who knows what they do here…
Many of these experiments require high energy subatomic particles to study, so CERN maintains a large accelerator complex which accelerates different types of particles to supply to the various experiments, including protons, antiprotons, and lead ions. If you have heard the name CERN in the news over the past years, it is most likely due to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) – the largest and most powerful particle accelerator and collider in the world.
What is the LHC?
Before going in to specifics on the LHC, I’ll address what exactly a particle accelerator is and why we need them.
You may not be aware, but only about 1% of particle accelerators world-wide are used for research. The other 99% are used for things like radiotherapy and industrial processing. Accelerators are used to scan cargo containers coming into the US for nuclear weapons. They are used to harden steel, toughen asphalt, sterilize food, kill cancer, seal chip bags, create computer chips… the list goes on. This amazing technology also allows us to delve down to the very deepest level of matter in order to study the universe around us.
Particle accelerators actually accelerate particles by subjecting them to high electrical voltages. For the curious, many accelerators today use radio frequency caverns, but studies to develop a technique using plasma are on-going. If the particles are moving quickly enough (and therefore have a high enough energy), they can interact with other particles and change the physical properties of matter that it comes in contact with. They also have to steer these particles with giant magnets!
Now particle colliders do exactly what you think they would – they collide particles. Very high energy particles. When these high energy particles smash in to each other, they actually come apart. The pieces then either decay or combine in to other particles. We then detect and study what comes out of these collisions in order to learn about the fundamental structure of the universe.
So why is the LHC such a big deal? After being switched on in 2008, it is the largest particle accelerator in the world and truly an amazing feat of physics, engineering, and technology.
This is what the beamline looks like, except underground.
It takes protons from regular old hydrogen gas, speeds them up to 99.9999991% the speed of light, and smashes them together. Here are some facts that I hope will blow your mind:
- The protons circulate the ring over 11,000 times every single second
- The operational temperature is -456°F
- The air inside the beam line is thinner than the air in outer space
To put this in perspective, it takes about 20 minutes for me to drive from one side of the ring to the other, while it takes the protons .09 milliseconds. That’s crazy!
Here’s a great little video series put out by Fermilab, explaining things quite nicely:
The LHC is currently switched off for upgrades, and will be turned back on in late March. Last time, we discovered the Higgs boson lurking in the data we took. Who knows what will show up this time!
Why is any of this important?
I often get questioned about the usefulness of fundamental physics research. Many see it as so far removed from their everyday life – so far that they are unsure why they should care or why we should be funding these ventures. To those people, I usually have one of two responses.
First is the answer for the practical folks: that most of the technology developed in pursuit of particle physics has been seamlessly integrated in to their everyday lives, but they don’t even realize it. In order to do all of this big science, physicists have pushed the boundaries on modern technology and taken it further than ever before. Examples include superconducting wires to carry more electricity to homes, better ways to transmit and store data, more advanced computer and electrical chips, computing grids, advances in parallel processing and machine learning, the internet… Wait, what? That’s right! CERN invented the internet. So you have particle physics to thank for that.
The first ever proposal for the internet.
Second is the answer that I like better, and the reason that I am in particle physics. It is pure curiosity. We live in this amazing, mysterious, magnificent universe which holds so many secrets just waiting to be discovered. How can you not feel the allure of that knowledge just beyond your grasp? It is too much for me to stand idly by and let the universe run its course. I want to know how the world around us works, down to every last detail. I want to see more.
If I may make an analogy: It’s always nice to see a beautiful mountain off in the distance, but it’s even better to go and climb it.
So I hope I have at least piqued your interest in what is going on in the world of physics! If you have ANY questions or feel I have left something out, please contact me! But I have said enough for one post. Next time, I will talk about the CMS experiment: one of the large detectors at the LHC.
Further science links:
- Take a virtual tour of the LHC!
- Someone has already explained all of this much better than I have. Check out this CERN publication about physics and the LHC. Written for beginners!
- Very extensive blog about the LHC and physics. Can answer a lot of your questions!
- Feynman is a truly amazing scientist, as well as a teacher. His talks about science in general are inspiring. Found here and here.
- Tons of great 1-2 minute videos on particle physics!
- Check some physics-related TED talks!
Seeing More 
Pingback: Particle Physics – The Basics | Seeing More
Pingback: What is CMS? | Seeing More