“From a cavern 100 metres below a small Swiss village, the 7000-tonne ATLAS detector is probing for fundamental particles“ ATLAS is one of two general-purpose detectors at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). It investigates a wide range of physics, from the search for the Higgs boson to extra dimensions and particles that could make up dark matter. Although it has the same scientific […]
To accelerate particles, the accelerators are fitted with metallic chambers containing an electromagnetic field known as radiofrequency (RF) cavities. Charged particles injected into this field receive an electrical impulse that accelerates them. In the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), 16 RF cavities are housed in four cylindrical refrigerators called cryomodules, which enable them to work in a
Accelerating: Radiofrequency Cavities Read More »
Galaxies in our universe seem to be achieving an impossible feat. They are rotating with such speed that the gravity generated by their observable matter could not possibly hold them together; they should have torn themselves apart long ago. The same is true of galaxies in clusters, which leads scientists to believe that something we
Dark Matter & Dark Energy (what is known thus far) Read More »
