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The Large Hadron Collider

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Give the LHC some credit!

The Large Hadron Collider is a giant particle accelerator near Geneva in Switzerland. The majority of people who have ever heard of the LHC know about this much...but thats about it. Or, due to the media, perhaps not?

'The tool of the apocolypse' 'The black-hole machine' and 'The End of the World' are all headlines I have read in newspapers and magazines over the last few years and to be honest I am getting a little sick of it. They may have some extreme probabilistic truth to them but lets give the LHC a fair chance before we take the easy option and side with the media. After all, the LHC could be the greatest scientific instrument ever built and make discoveries that will rock the very foundations of modern particle physics.

I hope to produce a page full of up to the date LHC information. My aim is for a standard web browser to come across my page, spend a few minutes reading it and be able to understand what the LHC is, why we need it and what it will do. I also hope to present arguments for and against media claims using my own knowledge as a physics graduate. I value comments and suggestions so please get in touch and lets give the LHC the credit it deserves!

What is the LHC? What will it do? Why?

Common Questions asked amongst many

The LHC is a large particle accelerator in Switzerland, near Geneva. Particle accelerators typical make fundamental particles, such as Protons in this case, travel really fast and then smash into each other. Why you ask? Well the energy that goes into each collision has to go somewhere and it goes into the production of new particles. So more energy = larger particles...get the idea?

Now the LHC is the most powerful particle accelerator to date, capable of collision energies close to 14TeV (Terra Electron Volts). Now often this is compared to the energy of a hand-clap, not really alot. However imagine concentrating the energy of that clap onto a needle tip-ouch! This is exactly what the LHC does. So with all this energy we can create new particles, particles that we have never managed to produce before. In fact we are recreating conditions in the very early universe, soon after the big bang when average energies per particle were huge. At these energy levels our current understanding of particle physics, given through the Standard Model, actually breaks down. Essentially the LHC is probing an energy level not yet explored in the hope of the discovery of new physics!

This is a crude summary but a good one. The LHC really is the next Christopher Columbus, venturing into the unknown and trying to solve the unanswered questions in modern particle physics. These include the origin of mass and problematic issues with the Standard Model.

The LHC Rap!

Would you believe it?

There are some instructive and entertaining videos regarding the LHC posted on YouTube with regular consistancy. I have found a great one to get your understanding of the LHC underway. You will laugh....alot, but also learn a great deal about what the LHC is, what it will do and why.

Hmmm learning while laughing? I`m sure that would have made studying more fun....
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So where is the LHC?

The LHC is situated near Geneva, Switzerland. It is clearer on a map.

10 Key LHC Facts

Go on....wow your mates!

  1. The largest machine in the World. The LHC has a whacking great circumference of 26659m!
  2. The Worlds largest fridge. The magnet system that keeps the accelerated particles under control is pre-cooled to -193.2 degrees celsius! Then believe it or not the entire system is pumped full of liquid helium bringing the temperature right down to -271.3 degrees celsius. That is just 2 degrees above absolute zero, the temperature at which atoms stop vibrating!
  3. The fastest racetrack on the planet. At full power protons will accelerate around the collider at 99.99% the speed of light. Thats 11245 around the loop every second!
  4. The most powerful accelerator in the World. With collision energies reaching 14TeV the LHC will be an order of magnitude more powerful than current colliders!
  5. The emptiest space in the solar system. We cannot afford the accelerated particles to collide with particles in the air within the system. Therefore the beams travel within a super-vacuum, with an internal air pressure ten times less than the pressure on the moon!
  6. The hottest and coldest place in the Galaxy. In collisions at full energy temperatures 100 000 times hotter than those in the Sun will be created. In contrast the cooling system keeps the apparatus cooler than outer space!
  7. The biggest and most sophisticated detectors ever built. With up to 600 million Proton collisions every second we need huge detectors capable of measuring on the micron scale. Accuracies to the billionth of a second and millionth of a metre are both capable!
  8. The most powerful supercomputer in the World. With enough collisions producing enough data to fill 100 000 dual layer DVD's a year tens of thousands of computers around the World are being called upon to data analysis in a Grid like setup.
  9. Tunneling to accuracy. When excavating the 27km long circular tunnel the two ends met up to within 2cm. Thats accurate!
  10. Lets all pull together. A huge collaboration of Scientists from almost every country in the World will be pulling together in the name of Science. The Sun really will never set on the LHC!

Photos of the LHC

Flickr has a great collection of LHC photos from various owners. There is no one owner I would recommend so here is a feed of random LHC photos.
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LHC Information on Amazon

There are some great books, videos and audio CD's available that summarise the work going on at the LHC. Amazon has some great ones, here are a few.
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Regular LHC Updates

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LHC Blogs from Google

Blogging can be one of the most informative means of learning about a given subject. This is definitly appropriate for the LHC as by reading a group of blogs you are able to hear lots of different opinions and come to an educated and logical opinion yourself.
Large Hadron Collider Turns Up the Heat in Higgs Hunt
By John Matson | February 13, 2012 | 1 The aftermath of a particle collision at the LHC that included debris consistent with a Higgs boson. Credit: CERN Europe's Large Hadron Collider, already the most powerful particle collider in history?and by a ...
'Will find or rule out Higgs boson by end of year' - CERN research director
By Rob Waugh Physicists at the Large Hadron Collider are to 'turn up' the beams of the enormous machine to a higher beam energy for a last-ditch hunt for the Higgs boson, a theoretical particle which would change physics. CERN will turn up the LHC's ...
American Scientists Create The World's First Genetically Engineered Monkeys
The announcement came from scientists at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland. They announced results of experiments with the Large Hadron Collider. It is the world's most powerful particle accelerator. High-energy physicists hope the collider will give ...
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The LHC Debate

Do you agree with what the LHC is trying to achieve?

Perhaps you are a Physics enthusiast or perhaps you are scared by modern science. Either way your views are important so join in on the debate and tell the world what you think.

Do you agree with what the LHC is trying to achieve?

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Yes I do

igorfuna says:

Pure science!

Posted February 25, 2011

reasonablerobinson says:

Of course. The search for knowledge is our destiny.

Posted September 18, 2010

dic105 says:

I know physics and the LHC and we have nothing to fear. Great scientific progress will come out of this accelerator. Just wait and see.

Posted October 10, 2009

No I do not

 

LHC Links

Please visit these links to boost your understanding of the Large Hadron Collider.
CERN : Official LHC
The official public CERN site for the Large Hadron Collider. You do not get better than this!
CERN : LHC Homepage
The homepage of all things LHC related

LHC Poll

Lets discover what people really think about the LHC shall we?

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Questions, Questions, Questions

Got a burning question or perhaps an opinion on the LHC. I would love to hear from you.

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dic105

Hi everyone! My name is Dom and I am fresh from my Master of Physics course at Southampton University UK. My final year was spent specialising in Part... more »

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