The Large Hadron Collider
I am sure that ever since humans appeared on planet earth, we have gazed at the stars and wondered about the inevitable question: How did I get here?
Well, the Large Hadron Collider is bringing us one step closer to answering that question.
What is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC for short), you might ask? Well, The LHC is a 27-kilometre long circle laid about 100 metres underground under the border of France and Switzerland. Right now, you are probably thinking "WHAT? What does some racetrack underground have to do with physics?" Well, the LHC is a first in science. It does its job by smashing elementary particles together and then, using its arsenal of sensors, analyzing the remains and trying to discover the hidden secrets of the universe.
As you may know, all objects in the known universe are made of atoms, which in turn are made out of elementary particles such as protons, neutrons, and electrons. These are called elementary particles because they cannot, for all we know, be broken down into anything smaller. However, there are many other kinds of elementary particles aside from the ones that make atoms, such as neutrinos, bosons and the like. And the LHC aims to discover as many of these particles as possible. And, is specific, there is one particle, the ”god” particle, which would unite two opposing sides of quantum physics, open a whole new world of science for us to discover, and ultimately unite all of us people out there to one central theory. This particle is the higgs boson, or simply the “higgs” and its astounding quality is that it gives other particles mass.
Right now, you are probably thinking, “This guy is an idiot. Was that supposed to be suspenseful or exciting in any way? Because sorry, man, it isn’t.” And you have good reason to say that. Odds are, unless you’re a particle physicist or potential time-traveller, this will never affect you in any way. But, it’s cool, and it’s fun to know and blow your friends’ minds with your vast knowledge of the universe. So read on, my friend- it will get better. I promise.
The higgs’ incredible property is due to its ability to “attach” itself to another elementary particle by the way of, for example, as string, therefore giving the other particle mass, but then snapping to a different position just as quickly as it arrived. Also, when two higgs-affected particles collide with each other the imaginary strings can entangle with one another. This is the particle that the LHC is striving to unlock the mysteries of.
Now, I’m not a particle physicist either, so it’s a bit all greek to me as well. However, I hope that by the end of this article, you will have a basic knowledge of what a higgs boson is, what the Large Hadron Collider is, and then someday you will too become an aficionado (read: lover) of quantum physics like I am. Thanks for reading!
By Dylan Sloan
Edited by Jonathan Yim