What's Really Happening At CERN

imagine a place where the boundaries of reality blur where the very fabric of the universe is stretched and the unknowable becomes known this is not a science fiction world but a reality created deep underground beneath the border between France and Switzerland here is the largest machine ever built by mankind the Large Hadron Collider it is a Marvel not only of engineering but also of ambition and a testament to our quest to understand the universe at the most fundamental level but could this device designed to unlock the mysteries of particle physics also be the key to opening portals to other dimensions the idea of spatial portals May conjure up images of sci-fi gadgets and Interstellar travel still here at the European Organization for nuclear research also known as CERN they represent the gateway to revolutionary discoveries here the concepts of space time and reality are intertwined thanks to the high-speed collisions of subatomic particles this is not just a story about complex mechanisms and theoretical physics it's a journey into the heart of what makes our Universe move made with the planet's largest and most powerful particle gas pedal as we go deeper we learn how these experiments not only challenge our understanding of the universe but change [Music] it CERN is nestled Among The beautiful landscape of Europe where the serene Tranquility of nature meets human curiosity the European Organization for nuclear research the epitome of global cooperation is home to scientists and Engineers seeking to unravel the layers of our reality CERN was founded in 1954 to unite nations in the pursuit of scientific knowledge and has grown to become the world's largest part IAL Physics laboratory here more than 10,000 mines from over a 100 countries converge to push the boundaries of human knowledge the heart of the organization's research is located deep underground the Large Hadron Collider or LHC this outstanding example of human Ingenuity spans 17 miles a circular tunnel in which the most Advan Advanced scientific experiments ever conceived are conducted as the most powerful particle gas pedal on Earth the LHC allows physicists to recreate the conditions that occurred moments after the big bang by accelerating particles to near light speed and colliding them with each other the LHC helps us explore the fundamental particles that are the building blocks of the universe but cern's role goes beyond particle physics as a center of global scientific research it is also a hot bed of technological advances Innovations developed here such as the worldwide web have fundamentally changed our world illustrating how basic research by scientists has gone beyond the laboratory to impact society as a whole this institution is more than a laboratory using the universal language of research and discover the European Organization for nuclear research brings people and countries together demonstrating that our quest for knowledge Knows No Boundaries if we delve deeper into the basic purpose of the large hadrin collider we find that its true scientific Excellence lies in the fact that it allows physicists to test and extend several fundamental theories of particle physics this machine is is as much about Brute Force as it is about precision and the subtle nuances of particle Behavior at incredibly High energies the standard model of particle physics developed in the middle of the 20th century describes the forces and particles that make up our universe however it is not complete the LHC is a unique environment where particles Collide at high enough energies to detect phenomena that can either confirm or fute this model one of the key aspects of the research is the study of super symmetry the theory that every particle we know has a heavier super partner these Partners if they exist could unlock many of the Mysteries of the universe including the nature of dark matter the LHC also plays an important role in investigating the validity of string theory a branch of theoretical physics that attempts to reconcile gravity with quantum mechanics it suggests that point particles and partical physics can be replaced by one-dimensional strings the vibrations of these strings appear to us as different particles the energy levels achieved in this giant laboratory allow us to explore these ideas potentially creating new particles predicted by String Theory but beyond the tangible the LHC has entered the realm of what many consider science fiction the idea of opening a portal is a term that's often misinterpreted by the Sci-Fi element of popular culture scientifically speaking a portal is not a mystical gateway to another dimension as shown in the movies or on television instead it refers to the potential creation of microscopic black holes during particle collisions these phenomena predicted by the same String Theory would be extremely shortlived and would not pose a threat to our existence as The Sensational news of the yellow press suggest while in pop culture portals may be portrayed as doors to alternate realities or times in the world of high energy physics they represent an opportunity to observe and study conditions and particles that can barely exist in the natural Universe these experiments had the potential to open up new dimensions of physics literally by analyzing the particles produced by these collisions scientists can gather evidence that either confirms these theories or sends them back to the drawing board with its unprecedented ability to test these theories the LHC acts like a giant microscope magnifying the very fabric of the universe and helping us understand the fundamental principles that govern everything we see and everything we don't particle physics is constantly evolving in each experiment Discovery pushes the boundaries of our understanding of the Universe from discovering fundamental particles to challenging the limit of physics the achievements of this Research Center are monumental at the center of such scientific advances is the discovery of the higs bosen a particle integral to the mechanism that gives Mass to Elementary particles discovered in 2012 this breakthrough confirmed a crucial part of the standard model of particle physics an won the 2013 Nobel Prize in physics the existence of the higs ban often called the God particle has answered fundamental questions about how particles acquire Mass this discovery was a Triumph of theoretical physics also of notied the recent public release of the discovery of the higs ban by the CMS collaboration which marks a significant commitment to open science and collaborative research transparency Fosters a global scientific dialogue in which hypotheses can be rigorously tested and new theories can emerge from shared knowledge this release which includes the unique combined software developed to search for the higs bosan allows scientists around the world to explore the intricate details of this Monumental Discovery the resulting likelihood function with nearly 700 parameters captures the complexity of the experimental data offering a multi-dimensional representation that defies even the most sophisticated visualization this openness not only democratizes access to Cutting Edge science but also enhances the collective ability to validate and build on key findings but the journey did not in there CERN has played a key role in other significant discoveries such as the isolation of antimatter and the detailed study of Quark gluon plasma a state of matter thought to have existed just after the big bang another experiment called Alpha has successfully trapped anti-hydrogen atoms opening a new way to study the properties of antimatter this pioneering work aims to answer the question of why the universe is made up mostly of matter even though the Big Bang Theory suggests there's an equal amount of matter and antimatter another Cornerstone of cern's research is the study of Quark gluon plasmas using the lhcb experiment by studying Quark gluon interactions scientists are delving into the study of the strong force a fundamental force that holds Atomic nuclei together each Discovery at CERN not only adds a new layer to our understanding of particle physics but also pushes the boundaries of what technology can achieve under such extreme conditions these experiments require the precise coordination of hundreds of scientists and Cutting Edge technology reflecting the amazing collaboration of people around the [Music] world as you may have realized by now the LHC is not just a Technology Loop it's a finely tuned experimental environment in which the most fundamental questions of physics are addressed so how does the Large Hadron Collider work the process begins by feeding beams of proton into the collider from a chain of small gas pedals each proton began its journey in a simple bottle of hydrogen where electrons are stripped from it leaving bare protons ready for acceleration these protons pass through a series of gas pedals gaining energy at each stage until they finally arrive at LHC once in the collider the proton beams are boosted to finite energy levels reaching the 6.8 ter electron volt Mark during the latest 2024 launches this intense energy is necessary for the protons to collide with sufficient Force to Decay into a range of subatomic particles some of which may never have been observed before the whole process takes place on a scale that's difficult to comprehend with everyday analogies but we'll still try to explain the concept fully one ter electron volt is roughly equal to the kinetic energy of a flying mosquito thus 6.8 te is akin to the total energy of about 6.8 flying mosquitoes however that energy is packed into a particle that is inconceivably smaller than a mosquito the proton is a subatomic particle meaning it's part of the nucleus of an atom and has a diameter of about 1 FM by comparison a mosquito is about 1/4 in Long to visualize this difference if a proton were the size of a p a mosquito would be the size of a large skyscraper but all the energy of a moving skyscraper would be packed into such a small object so let's continue of crucial importance in the whole process is the achievement of proton beam stability a state when the beams are dense and well focused the beams are carefully regulated or squeezed to ensure they Collide in the detector at the point where they can be most effectively studied this process involves precise control of the many magnets around the LHC ring that guide and focus the beams the collider has already produced its first stable beams at unprecedented energy levels in 20124 marking the official start of this year's physics data collection season the third year of LHC Run 3 promises 6 months of proton collisions with energies of 13.6 ter electron volts at even higher luminosities than before meaning more collisions for data Gathering experiments this phase will be followed by experiments with lead ions providing a different set of conditions to study also this year the atlas experience expent has already achieved a milestone in particle physics by measuring the width of the W boson for the first time this parameter crucial for understanding the weak Force carried by the W ban was found to be 2202 Mega electron volt which agrees well with the predictions of the standard model moreover at the Forefront of investigating the fundamental asymmetries of our universe the lhcb collaboration has made signif ific process in understanding the complex interplay between matter and antimatter in recent experiments they have studied the behavior of the neutral dmon and neutral strange bmon uncovering new layers of complexity in how these particles violate charge parody symmetry the neutral dmon consisting of a charm quark and an up antiquark has shown A peculiar Quantum Quirk it can spontaneous transform into its antimatter counterpart and back again this phenomenon has been captured with unprecedented Precision in recent data sets from the first two LHC runs the current study aims to identify potential CP violations in these Transformations which may shed light on the predominance of matter over antimatter in our universe similarly the neutral strange bmon meon consisting of a a bottom an a quark and a strange Quark showed time dependent CP violations when decaying into Quark gluon plasma this observation marks a significant Advance as it was achieved with statistical significance beyond the typical Discovery threshold in particle physics these results not only confirm the known behavior of these particles but also open new avenues of research with the LHC now operating at higher luminosities future data could further refine these measurements potentially leading to new physics beyond the standard model that could explain dark matter and matter antimatter asymmetry in the vast Universe of information surrounding the large hadrin collider many myths and Sensational stories have taken root today we'll try to clear up these misconceptions and explore the real science ific picture going on deep beneath the surface one common myth is that experiments at the collider can inadvertently produce black holes capable of consuming the earth now while the LHC can create tiny black holes they are on the quantum scale and evaporate almost instantaneously through a process known as Hawking radiation Steven Hawkings theoretical predictions convince us that these microscopic black holes pose no danger they provide a fascinating insight into gravitational forces but are far from the endof thee world scenarios depicted in science fiction another dramatic claim is that the collider opens portals to other dimensions or causes catastrophic natural disasters such scenarios although popular in movies and on television are not supported by any scientific data the lhc's primary mission is to test the predictions of theoretical physics to study the particles and forces at work in the universe not to disrupt the fabric of reality as we know it CERN operates under strict safety protocols comprehensive checks and risk assessments are carried out regularly to ensure that all experiments are safe not only for scientists but also for the environment and finally stories of supernatural phenomena or secret experiments are completely unfounded as a transparent scientific organization its research is published and available to the global scientific Community the commitment to openness extends to public documentation accessible databases and collaborative projects across continents as we continue our journey we want to remind ourselves to remember to rely on proven facts and scientific research as we delve into the theoretical underpinnings of multi-dimensional research at CERN we are exploring Concepts that push the boundaries of our understanding of the universe these areas of physics consider the possibility that our universe may not be limited to the three dimensions of space and one of time that we experience every day the idea of higher Dimensions comes from theories such such as string theory and super String Theory which both suggest that particles are not Zero Dimensional points but rather one-dimensional strings vibrating in multi-dimensional space these theories suggest the existence of up to 10 or 11 Dimensions which may help resolve inconsistencies between quantum mechanics and general relativity in practice researchers at CERN use the hadrin collider to investigate these higher Dimensions indirectly one approach is to look for signs of particles that may exist only in these higher Dimensions or effects such as the formation of microscopic black holes the search for extra Dimensions is not just a quest for knowledge about the fabric of space it also has practical implications for understanding the fundamental forces of nature including gravity if extra Dimensions do exist they may explain why gravity is much weaker than other fundamental forces Beyond theoretical curiosity the study of higher Dimensions can lead to technological advances and Fields such as Quantum Computing and Material Science as these Concepts push the development of new technologies to detect and measure extremely small and fast phenomena as we delve deeper into the Uncharted frontiers of particle physics a new CERN initiative the search for hidden particles project or ship is poised to revolutionize our understanding of the cosmos the ambitious project aims to detect elusive ghost particles that may hint at higher Dimensions beyond our three-dimensional space the ship experiment is based on an Innovative concept unlike traditional collisions at the LHC where particles smash into each other ship will direct them toward a fixed Target increasing the probability of detection the method is expected to be a thousand times more sensitive than any existing equipment at CERN these ghost particles potentially constituting dark matter or other unknown aspects of dark energy remain invisible under ordinary conditions because of their extremely weak interactions with ordinary matter the implications of the discovery of such particles are profound and will probably change our fundamental theories of physics along with ship plans are underway for a future circular collider which should be a Leap Forward in particle collision technology it is planned that this collider will reach its full potential by the middle of the 21st century and will push the boundaries of human technology and scientific research potential discoveries made at ship and the future circular collider could open new chapters in the history of our universe from advancing our understanding of fundamental particles to creating new technologies the implications to go far beyond particle physics promising a glimpse into the very fabric of the cosmos and perhaps even into the higher Dimensions that weave it together as CERN continues to support its scientific achievements the Quest for knowledge is moving forward promising a future in which the mysteries of the universe will be revealed one collision at a time

Channel: Space Matters

Views: 60,603

Keywords: Higgs Boson, CERN, Standard Model, Particle Physics, New Physics, Scientific Discoveries, Physics Research, Fundamental Particles

Id: 12kjiZMuN3Q

Length: 23min 1sec (1381 seconds)

Published: Sun May 12 2024