Atomic theory explains what the world is and how it’s held together.

The Atom

If the nucleus was the size of this marble then the nearest electron would be 1km away which is the distance from here to Wotton!!! Also the diameter of the electrons would be less than the width of a single hair!!!

Scientists have discovered there are even smaller things than protons and neutrons

There are four fundamental forces holding particles together

• We need the right machine for the job!!!

• When we want to see really tiny things we have to use a shorter wavelength and a higher energy probe.

• Therefore we need a

particle accelerator

and detectors!!!

• By accelerating electrically charged particles at high speeds using electric fields, we can smash them against other particles!!!

• This interaction can give us a picture of what they look like

• The colliders can generate . enough energy to create . temperatures of one trillion degrees centigrade, or 100 million times the temperature of the centre of the Sun!

A big question, What determines mass?

• Is it a particle that has not yet been discovered or observed?!

•The Higgs boson plays a key role in explaining the origins of mass (including the very chairs you’re sat on!!!)

• The Higgs field and gluons is the stuff that gives everything mass!!!

• Every particle “swims” through the Higgs field

• This interaction gives particles their mass

• If found it could show how the Universe was created!!!

Particle!!!

Higgs field

CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research, the world's largest particle physics centre.

It is on the border between France and Switzerland

80 Countries are currently involved in the project

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a particle accelerator which will probe deeper into matter than ever before

It is the longest ever made

at 27km long and is underground at depths ranging from 100m to 150m

The LHC will make the Higgs Boson detectable

KLB visit to CERN 2005

Set to go into operation in 2008

After 15 years of work and 2,000 physicists contributions

Costing over £100 billion

• Role play models used with the kind permission of Dr Helen Heath, Bristol University

•www.cern.ch, diagrams from ‘The particle adventure’ and details about CERN

• http://livefromcern.web.cern.ch/livefromcern CERN pictures

• http://www.wikipedia.org, For general information about The Higgs boson and particle accelerators

• http://www.clab.edc.uoc.gr/materials/pc/img/duck-detector, for the pictures of particle accelerators

• http://www.hep.yorku.ca/yhep/, for information on atomic theory and particle interaction

CHEERS!