Particle Physics
Latest Contributing Articles
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Sci-Fi Doomsday Movies Thrive on Pseudo-Science
Some basic science goes a long way in science fiction movies, but science has to run amok to provide a decent doomsday scenario.
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How Might The Universe Have Begun?
Prof Frank Close of the University of Oxford continues his journey into the world of particle physics.
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Antimatter Does Exist but Not as Shown in Movies
Does antimatter exist - and can it be harnessed by both physicists and novelists?
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A New Experiment in the Hunt for Neutrinos
Those hunting for the elusive neutrino typically trek to exotic locations to detect the particle. But new projects are looking up to Moon to detect neutrinos using radio.
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Are Scientists Closing in on the Higgs Boson?
Scientists with the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory say their machine has a 50% chance of discovering the particle which is believed to give mass to the universe.
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The Building Blocks of Matter
Fermions are a fundamental class of particles, and they are subdivided into two categories. Together, they serve as the building blocks of all matter.
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The Four Forces of Nature
The four known natural forces are, from strongest to weakest: strong nuclear, electromagnetic, weak nuclear, and gravity. Without forces structure could not exist.
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Tevatron Racing LHC to the Finish
Fermilab's Tevatron is trying to make more scientific news before Europe's huge Large Hadron Collider completes repairs and begins operations again in the Spring of 2009.
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Travelling at Light Speed
Proton collisions, at near light speeds, lead to bizarre effects which seemingly defy common sense. Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity helps to make sense of it all.
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World's Biggest Gun Set to Fire September 2008
Straddling the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva, 50 meters underground and an astonishing 17 miles long; the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is easily the World's biggest gun.
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The Large Hadron Collider Finally Starts Up
In what The Guardian has called the most ambitious experiment, the Large Hadron Collider, the largest particle accelerator, is about to start up after a 20 year wait.
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Principles of Particle Detection
The scientific explanation of what exactly is happening within a particle accelerator experiment is not that complicated. It relies on just a couple fundamental laws.
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Linear and Circular Accelerators
Particle Accelerators form an enormous part of physical discovery, and as such, they are constantly getting bigger, better, and (much) more expensive.
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Anti-Particles and Anti-Matter
The discovery of the positron paved the way for further realization that every particle known must also have an "anti" particle.
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Paul Dirac and the Positron
In the late 1920's Paul Dirac it was discovered that "normal" electrons might not be the only ones to exist. There might be an "opposite" particle as well.
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The Quantum Totalitarian Principle
The Totalitarian Principle declares that anything which is not forbidden by any specific rule of physics, is required by law to occur, with no exceptions.
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What's in a Vacuum?
For all practical purposes, a vacuum is completely devoid of anything, it is the definition of nothingness. The reality is a bit more complicated.
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Review: Parallel Universe
"Parallel Universe" has been airing periodically on the Science Channel, and is one of the most comprehensible introductions to the topic.
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Composite Particles
Beyond the elementary fermions, leptons, and bosons, are the composite particles which are made up of these elementary particles.
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Bosons
Bosons, along with fermions and leptons complete the 'zoo' of elementary particles.
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Leptons
Leptons, along with fermions (quarks) and bosons (which we will subsequently look at), compose the 'zoo' of elementary particles.
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Fermions
The fermions are a class of elementary particles that are defined by their 1/2 integer spin, and the fact that they make up the matter that we interact with everyday.
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The Particle Zoo
According to Einstein's famous equation, all matter is made of energy, but all matter is also made of fundamental particles - little, discrete, bundles of energy.
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The Neutron
The neutron is one of the most common particles of matter, and it is integral to the formation of every element other than hydrogen. Find out why.
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