Ever wondered where the "magic" of particle acceleration happens? Check out these maps (provided by Googlemaps) of the neighborhoods surrounding Fermilab (located in Batavia, Illinois)
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and CERN's Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland
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Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Structure of the Atom
From an online curriculum guide produced by New York University, this web page provides a good, introductory outline to the structure and makeup of an atom, even going into some detail about electron orbitals. Also included is a link to an interactive Periodic Table of Elements provided by WebElements. It may not be strictly related to subatomic particles, but atoms are very tiny things and the chart is pretty cool!
Structure of the Atom
Structure of the Atom
Physics jokes and anecdotes
Not all of these are related to particle physics or the tiniest of tiny things, but there are some real eye-rolling groaners in this bunch of physics-related jokes and anecdotes from PhysLink, an online portal for physics and astronomy. Read them at your own risk, though; if you're not careful you might learn something!
Physics jokes and anecdotes
Physics jokes and anecdotes
Atom Builder
So you think you're a hot-shot particle physicist now? You know your color charges from top to bottom, electric charge up and down, and you'd be charmed to try your hand at a little hadronizing? Well, this strange little game from PBS will give you just the opportunity!
Making use of your subatomic savvy, can you turn a hydrogen atom into carbon? (Game requires Shockwave)
Atom Builder
Making use of your subatomic savvy, can you turn a hydrogen atom into carbon? (Game requires Shockwave)
Atom Builder
The Hunt for Higgs
Higgs bosons seem like they're kind of important don't they? When CERN's Large Hadron Collider is fully operational, it will be "smashing" particles into each other at unprecedented speeds and energy levels...hopefully enough to produce a Higgs boson. But if the existence of the Higgs is only theoretical now, how will scientists know if they manage to make one?
This charming game from the Science Museum (London, UK) explains how scientists will be able to determine if they might have created a Higgs boson in the LHC. (Game requires Flash to run)
The Hunt for Higgs
This charming game from the Science Museum (London, UK) explains how scientists will be able to determine if they might have created a Higgs boson in the LHC. (Game requires Flash to run)
The Hunt for Higgs
"The God Particle": The Higgs Boson
Although originally provided by the Cassiopeia Project, which is mentioned in another blog post, this video offers an introduction to the Higgs boson.
Why does the Higgs boson get special treatment? Well, the Higgs boson is the "holy grail" of modern particle physics - no one can yet prove it exists, but everyone is looking for it! If it can be found, the Higgs boson may be one of the keys to moving forward with a unified theory of physics. Endeavors to discover the Higgs have prompted more and more impressive scientific advances, culminating with CERN's Large Hadron Collider, which is hoped to be able to generate enough energy for physicists to finally create a Higgs boson in a controlled setting, and observe it for the first time.
So far, however, the "god particle" remains elusively beyond our reach!
"'The God Particle': The Higgs Boson"
Why does the Higgs boson get special treatment? Well, the Higgs boson is the "holy grail" of modern particle physics - no one can yet prove it exists, but everyone is looking for it! If it can be found, the Higgs boson may be one of the keys to moving forward with a unified theory of physics. Endeavors to discover the Higgs have prompted more and more impressive scientific advances, culminating with CERN's Large Hadron Collider, which is hoped to be able to generate enough energy for physicists to finally create a Higgs boson in a controlled setting, and observe it for the first time.
So far, however, the "god particle" remains elusively beyond our reach!
"'The God Particle': The Higgs Boson"
Cassiopeia Project
The Cassiopeia Project provides high definition, high quality videos on science topics and makes them freely available to teachers and interested individuals.
Several topics are covered by the Cassiopeia Project, but of particular interest is the 12-video series the Project provides on the Standard Model, and the 7-video series on quantum mechanics.
All videos are available for download in MPEG-4 format in both regular and high definition, and many videos also have available transcripts as well. Videos are also available through iTunes U.
Several topics are covered by the Cassiopeia Project, but of particular interest is the 12-video series the Project provides on the Standard Model, and the 7-video series on quantum mechanics.
All videos are available for download in MPEG-4 format in both regular and high definition, and many videos also have available transcripts as well. Videos are also available through iTunes U.
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