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 […]
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.
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.
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.