Particle Article

CERN from the air. The large ring is 27km in circumference

and shows the outline of the old Large Electron and
Positron Collider

Straddling the border between France and Switzerland lies the massive establishment known as CERN, the European Centre for Nuclear Research. Within a week or two, a vast experiment will begin, involving the operation of the Large Hadron Collider a particle accelerator all of 27km in length. Using magnets constructed to use super-conducting materials, which will be maintained at -271.25°C, or if you like, 1.75°K, protons will be accelerated to energies of seven trillion electron volts and then smashed together. The aim is to simulate conditions that prevailed a few micro-seconds after the Big Bang and to discover new particles including the elusive Higgs Boson.

If all the above is a little on the dry side for you, there are some stunning photographs of the colossal works going on at CERN. How about precision welding via a mirror?

The pictures above and many more all with interesting captions, may be found at the Boston Globe.

Finally those who wish to understand better the physics behind all this, may benefit from a bit of RAP from Alpinekat, a science writer who works at CERN...




Until the next time