SMU Physicists Create Particle Detector for Supercollider
Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:55 pmfrom Pegasus News (Dallas):
CERN plans to fire up the world's largest supercollider in August, which probably means we'll all be dying a fiery death due to the rampant uncontrollable release of deadly bosons.
But on the off chance that this doesn't happen, physicists at Southern Methodist University will be able to assess the functionality of the 7,000-ton subatomic particle detector they designed to be installed in the 27 kilometer closed loop super-cooled ring. (For us dim bulb Americans, 27 kilometers = 16.777 miles, equates to only about 31% the size of the Superconducting Super Collider that WOULD have been built outside Waxahachie if it hadn't been canceled by a cost-conscious Congress in 1993.)
What the scientists are going to be looking for (if we aren't all incinerated or blown to Hell or transported rather inconveniently into a parallel dimension where cartoon characters watch US on TV on Saturday mornings) are particles called Higgs bosons, which will allow scientists to ferret out a piece of the truth about the origin of the universe. (Whether it will lead to lower gasoline prices is anyone's bet.)
Physics Dept. head Ryszard Stroynowski refers to their Atlas particle detector as "the biggest science project ever, as far as I know, and probably the most complex."
http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2008/ju ... e-used-ce/
CERN plans to fire up the world's largest supercollider in August, which probably means we'll all be dying a fiery death due to the rampant uncontrollable release of deadly bosons.
But on the off chance that this doesn't happen, physicists at Southern Methodist University will be able to assess the functionality of the 7,000-ton subatomic particle detector they designed to be installed in the 27 kilometer closed loop super-cooled ring. (For us dim bulb Americans, 27 kilometers = 16.777 miles, equates to only about 31% the size of the Superconducting Super Collider that WOULD have been built outside Waxahachie if it hadn't been canceled by a cost-conscious Congress in 1993.)
What the scientists are going to be looking for (if we aren't all incinerated or blown to Hell or transported rather inconveniently into a parallel dimension where cartoon characters watch US on TV on Saturday mornings) are particles called Higgs bosons, which will allow scientists to ferret out a piece of the truth about the origin of the universe. (Whether it will lead to lower gasoline prices is anyone's bet.)
Physics Dept. head Ryszard Stroynowski refers to their Atlas particle detector as "the biggest science project ever, as far as I know, and probably the most complex."
http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2008/ju ... e-used-ce/
