Alice Lighton, content developer for our Collider exhibition, writes about the history of quantum physics. Collider: step inside the world’s greatest experiment opens in November 2013 with a behind-the-scenes look at the famous CERN particle physics laboratory. The air brimmed with excitement on this momentous day. The discovery of the particle confirmed a theory that had taken years to devise, and justified the toil of hundreds of scientists. You might think I’m referring to the Higgs boson – the particle that explains mass, […]
A few years ago, a friend asked a question that took me somewhat by surprise. “Alice,” he said, “is quantum physics right, or is it just a theory?” At the time I was in the midst of a physics degree, so my initial response was “I hope so!” Quantum physics matches up to experiment extraordinarily well – it is often called the most accurate theory ever. But the question, and subsequent conversation, made me realise how little many people know […]
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Over the past three weeks, deep under the Jura Mountains on the Swiss-French border, a monster has been sleeping.
The Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest experiment, normally runs for 24 hour-a-day, seven days a week, but for four weeks in January and December, it is switched off writes Alice Lighton.
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New research from the Large Hadron Collider shows the newly-discovered Higgs boson is behaving exactly as expected. While this might seem like good news, for some people it is the opposite, because a well-behaved Higgs might rule out some intriguing new physics theories.
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In autumn 2013 an exhibition about the LHC will open in the Science Museum, and we’re currently scouting out objects and stories for the show.