• Question: what is the large hadron collider used for?

    Asked by marybarry to Damien, Suzi, Tim on 23 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Suzi Gage

      Suzi Gage answered on 23 Jun 2011:

      Hi @marybarry
      Great question!
      The large hadron collider is being used by particle physicists (including Brian Cox!) to find out what happens when tiny particle collide at very high speeds. It’s hoped that this can recreate conditions similar to those just after the Big Bang, to help us try and understand what happened all the way back then. There are large recorders as ‘collision points’ in the tunnel, and these are on the lookout for new particles, that haven’t been discovered yet, but theoretic physicists think might exist. One of these is called Higgs Boson, and it’s been theorised that it would have been heavily involved in the moments just after the Big Bang – so if it doesn’t exist, some rethinking about what happened may have to occur!

      Hope this helps! I love the LHC – I’ve love LOVE to go and see it one day! I just need to befriend Brian Cox!!! 😉

Comments

  • Photo: marybarry

    marybarry commented on :

    What did you mean by “new particles”?? Thanks for the answer and I’ve befriended Brian Cox…. well he replied to me on twitter, haha 😀

    • Photo: Suzi

      Suzi commented on :

      OMG I am well jealous! Nice one!
      New particles – well, it’s a good question – I mean things smaller than atoms (I think) that have been theoretically predicted to exist, but that no-one has observed yet. I hope that helps – it’s hard to describe because these things don’t actually definitely exist, and I’m no quantum physicist!!