The Hadron Partical Collider
| Designer | CERN |
| Dates | Switched on in May 2008 |
| Owner | European Organization for Nuclear Research |
Description
The particle collider is due to be completed in May 2008 and will be the most complex and expensive experiment since space travel and will be by by far the largest scientific instrument ever switched on in human existence.
"Particle physics is the unbelievable in pursuit of the unimaginable. To pinpoint the smallest fragments of the universe you have to build the biggest machine in the world. To recreate the first millionths of a second of creation you have to focus energy on an awesome scale." The Guardian"
So far it has cost $10B and employs thousands of scientists from all round the globe from all different countries. It sits beneath the French and Swiss borders.
The circular tunnel has a circumference of 17 miles and is situated 150 meters below ground level while being only 3 meters wide.
Basically the collider tunnel contains two pipes enclosed within superconducting magnets encased in concrete, cooled by liquid helium, each pipe containings a proton beams and heavy ions. The two beams travel in opposite directions around the ring in a vacuume guided by the magnets.
What this experiment will do is recreate and capture the conditions of the early universe around the time of the big bang by recording the make up and structure of the smallest particals. The fundamental building blocks of all things. Scientists believe it could lead to a complete understanding of everything.
It will be used to observe the Higgs Boson, a component of the Higs field theory which was theorised by Peter Higs in 1964 which has never been observed before.
A Personal View
Although many safety concerns have been brought over the possible creation of micro black holes and the creation of a runaway fusion process up until now known in fiction as “ICE-NINE.” It’s hard to believe that the many scientists putting everything into this expect anything at all to go wrong.
I believe this experiment has huge beneficial implications for the understanding of the world. It also shows humans’ innovation due to the fact that we need to explore more and more about the unknown, pushing technology into another dimension and to other levels. Plus they are so sure it will work that the construction of a linear collider 40 miles long will be beginning shortly.
What I admire about this machine is the extreme precision and intricacy of the design. The designers and engineers involved not only knew how to design a highly complex machine. They understood how it would work and how it needed to work. There is no doubt that the people involved held an absolute passion for the world of science, engineering and this project.
Below, A clip from BBC's Horrizon
Context
This rather remarkable experiment has never been done before and it is hard to relate it to anything of any real context. Some believe it is on a par with space travel. Then others think we are pushing the boundaries too far. What I do believe is that 20 years ago we not only found it hard to believe, but daunting that sci-fi movies showed a vision that in the future we would have touch flat screen monitors, television on our phones and electronic machines actually implanted into our bodies to help us with our health. Now we have them. What will the next 20 years bring?
Links
{CERN WEBSITE} - {CERN}
{CERN Bulletin} - {Ongoing News and work}
{EXPLINATION} - {Wikipedia Deffinition}
| Author: | James Hazell | Date: | March 2008 |
