AA-S1: The nucleus and Lord Rutherford

This report will analyse and evaluate the key discoveries of Lord Ernest Rutherford. It will delve into his experiments, how he conducted them and the effects this had on science both of that era and how it has shaped science since. Rutherford was a New Zealand born chemist and physicist who was educated at Canterbury and later became known as the ‘father of nuclear physics’. 

Rutherford when he saw currant buns as a tasty treat.  Not an atom conducting a scientific experiment.

Rutherford’s key area of study was nuclear physics and one of his most famous discoveries was coined the Rutherford model. He postulated that atoms have a positive charge in the nucleus and conducted the gold foil experiment in which he split an atom and then split the nucleus in a controlled manner. 1909 was the year that turned the world of physics on its head. BOOM! (No not the sound of the atom splitting but the metaphorical sound wave that echoed through the world of physics).  On The morning of 29th March the dew had set but the atoms true characteristics had yet to be discovered.

Rutherford’s gold foil experiment.

That day the first beam of alpha particles generated by the radioactive decay of radium was fired at an atom thick sheet of gold which was surrounded by a circular sheet of zinc sulphide. Interestingly only a very small percentage of atoms were deflected off path concluding that the atoms were mainly space. The smaller number of deflections showed there the nucleus mass was delusional in comparison to its particles.  Rutherford described this as if “you fired a 15 inch shell at at a piece of tissue paper and it came back and hit you” such huge deflections could mean only one thing, some of the alpha particles had run into massive concentrations of positive charge and since like charges repel, had been hurdled straight back at them. This lead to the downfall of the current bun theory which currently existed.

Not actual current bun used.

According to this popular theory, championed by J.J Thomson, atoms were built along the lines of currant buns. We just thought they were a tasty snack, evidently not. Recipes can be found online and we would recommend Delia smiths. Atoms were thought to be able to whizz straight though the thin foil. The theory was that the electrons for currants and a smeared out positive charge for the rest of the bun to keep the whole thing electrically neutral.

On a cold winter’s day in 1911, Rutherford was ironically eating current buns, subconsciously mocking his fellow scientist. He released yet another shock wave; however a more elongated noise, BOOOM!! Of course, for longer lasting effect, this came in the form of the new Rutherford Model which we still use today.  It is said to be, from a fellow critic, like an orange skittle sweet in Westminster abbey, a popular size comparison. This model focuses on a small massive nucleus in the centre of a spacious atom where the much lighter electrons are way outside the nucleus peering through the stained glass windows of scientific breakthrough.

Overall Rutherford was majorly influential towards science as a whole and especially in the field of nuclear physics. He created a new understanding and opened doors for a new era of science, before this, their vision was obscured by current buns. He cleared the way for modern day science and was widely appreciated as a Nobel winner in the area of chemistry.

AA-Z1: Why should we pay for the Large Hadron Collider?

Particle science has come a long way in the last twenty to thirty years. The understanding and theories that’s has come form recent research has helped progress the way we see the world and the universe as a whole. The biggest problem with all the theories, even though theoretically they seem viable and make sense, is that nothing can be said to be right until proven through a lot of research and experimenting with the various factors of the theory that is to be proven. The Large Hadron Collider project is one of the biggest and most revolutionary steps in particle research and could give us a huge understanding in the role of sub-elementary particles and insights into things such as the big bang theory. The project is run by the scientific company CERN, the European Organisation of Nuclear research.

The Large Hadron Collider is a big circular tunnel situated a hundred metres below the ground in Switzerland near the border to France. Inside it is a particle accelerator, which fires two beams of protons, or occasionally other particles, in opposite directions around the circular tube. The particles then collide and react creating huge amounts of energy, which should cause the protons to rip apart, leaving the sub-elementary particles, such as quarks and the hypothetical Higgs boson behind. This should allow scientists to study these difficult to find particles and answer many physics unanswered questions. Within the Collider there are four particle detectors, designed to analyse the particles as they divide into sub-elementary particles in the split seconds they exist as separate individual parts. The main particles which are being researched are protons but more specifically the smaller sub-proton particles.

Because of the complexity of the project and the way the science of splitting atoms into sub-elementary particles works, the lab requires a lot of very specialised equipment and needs a lot of time to do all the intricate aspects of the research. This therefore requires a lot of funding. The Large Hadron Collider itself cost and massive 2.6 billion pounds to build. Some people say this is a very important project as it could revolutionise science and change our understanding of everything but on the other hand some people see it as a huge waste of money as the science the project is based on and has not been proved (obviously as this is the reason for the project) so therefore potentially could just be wrong and a waste of time.

The research is funded by twenty European member states each funding a proportion of the overall cost. The UK as one of these states contributes eighty million pounds a year to fund the continuous research of the project. The UK funding this project could be seen as wasting money when we should be using it to put into public services as we are facing a time of cuts, just emerging from a recession, and overall economic downturn. However, if we were to stop funding the project, we would lose membership to CERN meaning we wouldn’t have an involvement in future projects including this current one.

This project currently has a workforce of over 10,000 people coming from research centres, universities and laboratories. To stop funding of this project now would mean that thousands of people across the world, including the UK, would lose their jobs, causing an even worse situation as we have already put so much money into the project. That means that it had to be proven at the start of the project to be a viable research experiment that will lead to us understanding and giving us hard evidence for the unanswered physics questions, which will be a force of good for the world. The main reason for the project is for finding the Higgs Boson, the ‘hypothetical’ particle, which makes up the force of the sub-elementary particles allowing mass to exist.

Therefore, it is imperative to the advancement of world science to continue the funding because it benefits the world economy, due to the paid workforce and the new understanding of information that we will have creating more jobs due to the rise of new areas in physics. Although the cost is expensive and financially draining in the beginning of the project, countries have to spend money to make money and this kind of research is important.

Bibliography

www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-enviroment

www.lhc.ac.uk

http://bellegeek.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/back-to-the-future-with-the-lhc/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1327769/Large-Hadron-Collider-creates-mini-Big-Bang.html

AA-Q1: Mendeleev and the Periodic Table

Dmitri Mendeleev was born in the Siberian town of Tolbol'sk 1834 into a large family of 17 children. At first he was not considered a prodigious student however he soon showed he had a natural aptitude for mathematics and science. His mother felt he deserved a decent education and moved to St. Petersburg were he gained a place to study at Main Pedagogical Institute, only after being rejected by both the Universities of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Eventually he was accepted into the latter as a post-graduate student where he earned a Master's degree in 1856. (1.) He would go on to become professor of Chemistry at St.Petersburg and remained there untill 1890. This leads us onto his main and historical academic achievement. The creation of the Periodic Table.

The Periodic Table as we know it today came to fruition one February’s day in St. Petersburg in 1869. Mendeleev was in the process of writing a new textbook on inorganic chemistry for his students at the Unisversity of St. Petersburg when he decided to organize his material in terms of the families of the known elements which displayed similar properties.  Over the years Mendeleev had obtained extensive amounts of data on the unknown elements such as their atomic weights, their roles in chemical reactions and their melting temperatures. (2.)  Legend has it in the Chemistry world that the idea and form of the Periodic Table came to him a dream during his afternoon nap. This occurred after he had devoted himself to a complex card game that involved creating a card for each of the 63 known elements at that time. This idea came to him after he had noticed patterns in the properties and atomic weights of halogens, alkali metals and alkaline metals. In particular he observed similarities between theseries Cl-K-Ca , Br-/Rb-Sr and I-Cs-Ba. The card game served to extend this emerging pattern to other elements.  With the elements symbol, atomic weight, and characteristic chemical and physical properties written on each card he arranged the cards on a table in order of ascending atomic weight grouping elements of similar properties together in a manner not unlike the card arrangement in his favorite solitare card game, patience, the periodic table was formed.(3.) Mendeleev was justifiably convinced that he had made a major scientific breakthrough and published his work ‘On the Relationship of the Properties of the Elements to their Atomic Weights’ in 1869.

Clearly Mendeleev was not the sole contributor to everything contained in the Periodic Table. He needed a thorough understanding of all the known elements that had been discovered up to the point of his creation. The history of elements can be traced back to the prominent Greeks at around 400B.C. The scholar Democritus was a pioneer in his way of thinking at this time. He thought that materials such as fire were made up of tiny invisible particles that could not be broken into smaller pieces. The word that he coined for these particles was the Greek for atoms, atomos .  Atoms are of course, the particles which make up elements.

Philosopher Aristotle also helped further with the understanding of how elements behaved with his idea that the four ancients elements could be mixed into any kind of material. This prompted a century’s long interest in alchemy. (4.) Although alchemy came to be abused somewhat by conmen trying to make gold, there were many who worked like scientists . Their efforts paved the way for the first true chemists  and the modern definition of an element.

Only after many centuries did scientists begin to doubt whether there were not more than 4 elements. In the late 17^th and early 18^th centuries, laboratories around Europe were discovering new elements such as Phosphorous. It was at this time that the idea of the atom was gaining more credibility through the works of Scottish alchemist Robert Boyle who argued that all matter must be made of atoms that come in differing shapes and sizes. In 1789 French chemist Antoine Laurent de Lavoisier offered the first modern definition of an atom; a chemical substance that could not be broken down into another substance. (5.) Englishman John Dalton then suggested that there were different kinds of atoms behind different elements and revolutionised a way to estimate the weight of an atom.

Mendeleev’s table was brilliant, a real discovery at the time. The science world was amazed by the new theory and a step forward in discovering the truth behind the building blocks of matter was made. However, the table was not complete, had some false points and work had to be done to develop it. Mendeleev’s table did explain the periodic nature of elements (that a relationship is to be found between elements) but it was modern scientists that had to discover why this was so and the laws that determine these relations. Of course, all modern discoveries were inspired by the new table Mendeleev created and did further develop his findings to extend our knowledge of the world.

In 1911 Ernest Rutherford studied the atom more closely and discovered the nuclear charge. This nuclear charge on a nucleolus was is relationship with the atomic weight of elements. Other scientists at the time felt that this relationship exists. It meant that the science world was working hard on the problems that arrived after Mendeleev’s table. The charge was named - atomic number and this new discovered property of elements gave scientists the tools to further organize the table of Mendeleev. Later on, Henry Moseley’s work on x-rays and wavelengths of elements showed that they were, as well, in relation with the atomic number. When the isotopes of elements were found it was realised that the periodic law followed rules and properties more complex that just the atomic weight of elements.

It was Niels Bohr who created a new and influential theory. He studied and discovered that electrons organize into shells – they occupy different energy levels. Another scientist, G.N. Lewis, further developed Bohr’s studies and found that electrons bond into pairs when occupying an energy level. Later, Glenn Seaborg worked to find the plutonium in 1940 and all the transuranic elements. He did make some important reorganization of elements order (related to his work) as well. All this work lead to the development of science and the latest scientific news report of a collider construction - a huge machine using magnetic fields to collide parts of atoms aiming at looking at what they are made of and finding the smallest possible particle.

To conclude in 1869 Mendeleev introduced his famous periodic table. It was the work of a man passionate about science and the result of hard intellectual endeavours. The ancient Greeks began their search for truth and started asking about the building blocks of matter followed by the alchemic study and the atom weight discovery, done by John Dalton. It was Mendeleev that demonstrated the periodic relations between elements and it moved knowledge to a more scientific stage opening the door for other researchers to develop more precise models of the elements and chemistry.

(1.)  http://www.wou.edu/las/physci/ch412/perhist.htm (accessed on 16/2/11)

(2.)  http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qemsEdmafYEC&pg=PA5&dq=periodic+table+history&hl=en&ei=TL1bTZz3BYqJhQe52vnJDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=periodic%20table%20history&f=false (accessed on 16/2/11)

(3.)  http://www.wou.edu/las/physci/ch412/perhist.htm (accessed on 16/2/11)

(4.)  http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qemsEdmafYEC&pg=PA5&dq=periodic+table+history&hl=en&ei=TL1bTZz3BYqJhQe52vnJDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=periodic%20table%20history&f=false (accessed on 16/2/11)

(5.)  http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qemsEdmafYEC&pg=PA5&dq=periodic+table+history&hl=en&ei=TL1bTZz3BYqJhQe52vnJDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=periodic%20table%20history&f=false (accessed on 16/2/11)

AA-L1: The life and chemistry of Joseph Black

Considered by many to be the founding father of Chemistry, Joseph Black has contributed greatly to our understanding of the effects of heat and temperature on substances. He discovered carbon dioxide during one of his experiments and made significant contributions to our understanding of how heat and temperature vary.

Joseph Black was born in Bourdeaux on 16th April 1728. His father was a wine merchant from Ireland and his mother Scottish. When he was 12 years old he was sent to school in Belfast, before going to university in Glasgow to study medicine and later studied at Edinburgh University where he obtained his MD.

Between 1750-52, Black worked on the chemistry of ‘magnesium alba’- a basic magnesium carbonate. It was during this time that he discovered a substance he called ‘fixed air’ – what we now know to be carbon dioxide. This was a breakthrough as it was commonly believed that air consisted of only one gas.   He measured changes to the magnesium alba when heated and caused the products to react with acid or alkaline substances. In this instance, Black disproved ‘Phlogiston theory’ which had been widely accepted until this point. Phlogiston theory claims that there is a substance called ‘inflammable earth’ which is present in every flammable substance. During combustion, this substance would cause phlogiston to be released into air’ Black’s work in this area was a significant breakthrough. He observed the changes in masses related to the release of carbon dioxide from heated substances. He proved that carbon dioxide was a product of respiration as well, he did this by bubbling pure carbon dioxide through an aqueous solution of Calcium Hydroxide, which would precipitate Calcium Carbonate, which he then used to prove Carbon Dioxide was a product of respiration and also fermentation.

Black also researched the nature of heat and how it relates to temperature. During this time there were several ideas theorising on what heat was and how it affected the chemistry of substances.  One theory suggested that liquids contained an inner fire which would be released when the liquid solidified. Another suggested heat was a tangible chemical substance which moved between hot and cold substances. Many of these ideas were in conflict with one another and little was actually understood at this time. Black’s meticulous experiments allowed him to clarify the distinction between heat and temperature clearing up some of the gaps in scientific knowledge of the time.

One of Black’s colleagues observed that certain substances produce extreme cold when they evaporate. This brought Black’s attention to the fact that snow was very slow to melt even when the air surrounding it increased in temperature. He realised the snow must be gradually taking in the heat from the environment without increasing in temperature. This, he called latent heat. And this latent heat, Black discovered, is the characteristic amount of energy absorbed or released by a substance without being preceded by a change in its temperature. His discovery here contributed greatly to Thermodynamics and extinguished the popular thoughts of the time.

Black also worked on Heat Capacity, a value that indicates the quantity of heat a specific material can hold. He was set onto this idea by something he had read in Boerhaave’s text, in which is detailed an experiment by Fahrenheit in which, when mixing equal quantities of mercury and water, Mercury had far less an effect in either heating or cooling compared to the water, in essence, the warm water heated the mercury far more than the warm mercury heated the water, and vice versa. This lead Black to stating that the mercury must have a smaller store of heat, despite having the greater density.

Despite his success in the field of pioneering chemistry, Black preferred his work as a lecturer, inspiring a great number of young students into the field of chemistry. He was also know to have been a friend and mentor to the inventor James Watt, and is credited for helping in his revolutionary invention of the separate combustion chamber in a steam engine.

AA-V2: Nuclear Physics - Good or Evil?

The Word ‘Nuclear’ can have several meanings:

Something to do with the nucleus of an atom

Something involved in a nuclear reaction (fission, for example), such as nuclear waste or nuclear energy

Or a description of weaponry which takes its power from uncontrolled nuclear reactions

All of these definitions are essentially very similar. All of nuclear physics revolves around the nucleus of the atom, and reactions involving the nucleus breaking apart or joining together. The most notable nuclear reactions are fission and fusion. Fission is the process where the nucleus of an atom splits up into smaller pieces, various smaller nuclei, individual protons and neutrons and some photons in the form of gamma rays. Fission is an exothermic reaction, which means it gives out energy. This is the nuclear reaction used for nuclear power plants and nuclear bombs. Nuclear fusion is the opposite of fission, in other words two or more smaller nuclei join together to make one large nucleus. This is also an exothermic reaction.

[Diagram illustrating Nuclear fission and nuclear fusion]

The image most commonly associated with “Nuclear Physics” is perhaps that of a nuclear explosion, caused by an atomic bomb. Of course, this is just one example of the application of nuclear physics, with others including nuclear energy – a source of electricity that does not rely on fossil fuels-, and Radiotherapy, a vital method in modern medicine used for the destruction of harmful tumours.

The biggest argument against nuclear physics is the atomic bomb, arguably one of the most unpleasant inventions in mankind’s history. Not only is the explosion caused by the immense nuclear reaction one of the most devastating imaginable, but those who survive are killed off slowly by the fallout, and resulting radiation. On the other hand, nuclear physics has also provided us with an alternative form of energy, which could be considered “clean” compared to coal or oil, as it does not produce carbon dioxide. Unfortunately nuclear power stations do produce vast quantities of nuclear waste, which must be stored, and if something goes wrong with the power plant the results can be catastrophic. An example of this is the Chernobyl disaster, back in 1986, where an explosion in a reactor lead to an entire city of 14000 people to be evacuated, with several deaths from radiation poisoning occurring, and widespread environmental issues ensuing. One of the main components of nuclear reactions is radiation, which exists in many forms, as alpha, beta and gamma radiation, as well as others. Radiation is very much a double edged sword. Radiation can be absorbed by substances, and in the case of living cells can cause cell damage leading to radiation sickness, a generally deadly ailment, or cell mutation causing tumours, often cancerous ones. These unpleasant predicaments can occur to many people who are exposed to radiation, such as early X-ray operators, people living near the site of a nuclear explosion, or those who have to handle radioactive material. For many of these people the end result is death. But although it can be the cause of illness, Radiation can also be a cure, and a vital component in modern day medicine. The X-ray, once refined so that the levels were not high enough to place the patient or operator at risk, is endlessly useful for enabling doctors to examine the inside of a patient without having to cut them open, allowing them to see unpleasant things the patient may have swallowed, or damaged bones. Another use for radiation, quite astonishingly, is in the treatment of cancerous tumours. Although radiation can be a cause of these tumours, when directed in concentrated beams onto the affected tissue, it can kill the undesirable growth, without damaging the surrounding tissue.

Interestingly, nuclear fusion is a naturally occurring reaction, and takes place in every active star. Without this we would be pretty cold down here on earth. Of course that does not mean that man mad nuclear fusion reactions are an entirely good thing, however, as the reaction has, as yet, been impossible to control, and so is mainly mused for nuclear weapons.

In conclusion, nuclear physics, like most things, is neither completely good norcompletely evil. It is a tool that can be used for good, but can be a weapon, or an unintentional hazard as well.

References:

www.wikipedia.org

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CNO_Cycle.svg

AA-H2: Isaac Newton and Alchemy

The name Isaac Newton is synonymous with physics. The man is considered by many to be the godfather of modern theory, having been credited with the invention of calculus and the three laws of motion still used in physics today. He has become an icon in the fields of mathematics and physics, and was recently voted as the second most influential man in history, behind only the Prophet Mohammed and before Jesus Christ. It is ironic then that Newton was a staunch Christian and saw his work in the fields of science as a way to prove the existence of a Christian God. This led him to the study of Alchemy (Chymistry) which it is now becoming accepted that he spent more time studying than the fields for which he is world-famous. How involved was he in this, and how does this compare with his comparatively reputable study in mathematics and physics?

Over 30 years he wrote a million words in 100 manuscripts on the subject. In 1936 in Sotheby’s in London, a cache of his writings on Alchemy was sold containing journals, notebooks and personal writings. Through this we know that his dedication to the field was great indeed, and may have been even greater still, however the true number of writings is unknown for several reasons. Newton is well known for never writing down his work, he famously calculated the elliptical orbit of planets before it was considered to be a solution, but never told anyone until approached. It was also illegal in his time to practise Alchemy due to Royal fears of a devaluing of gold due to any success, as well as the fear of swindling of investors that Alchemists could be so easily achieve. One final reason for the relative ignorance of Newton’s alchemical work is that a fire in his laboratory (started by his dog) destroyed an estimated 20 years worth of his manuscripts. Because of all these conditions, the work on alchemy written by Newton may be even more exhaustive than we know today.

Newton wrote so extensively on Alchemy, but never published any, that many are now attempting to have his work published in order to do two things: to investigate the laboratory techniques of Newton’s time and to replicate contemporary equipment and experiments. Newton collated an exhaustive collection of works from other Alchemists in order to gain a better understanding in the field; in fact he was credited as being the most informed person on the subject before or since.

The areas in which Newton studied alchemy were related to his monotheist beliefs and faith in biblical prophecies. He believed that to study God’s creations was to prove the existence of his beauty, and indeed his existence. Whilst Alchemy is viewed today as somewhat of a pseudo-science, in Newton’s day it was lauded as a true scientific field. Newton brought the two ideas of science and religion together. He believed that science without religion can become cold and austere, and that religion can degenerate into superstition. He saw to produce ‘philosophical mercury’ as the first step to a Philosopher’s Stone (the elixir of everlasting life) and a universal solvent. Dual to this monumental challenge was ‘everyday alchemy’ consisting of three areas:

·   The production of pigments, dyes, acids and strong drinks (these tasks were generally done by Alchemists to provide income)

·    The production of mineral based drugs

·    (Most importantly to Newton) The search for a formula for turning based metals into valuable metals such as Gold (Chrysopoeia)

Newton was involved in all three areas, and experimented exhaustively on the nature of matter and its interactions. In doing so, he was attempting to unify existing knowledge into a ‘grand unification theory’ of the world God created. This aim of refining theories and formulas to include one another is still effected in science today.

Newton is universally known for his work in mathematics and physics, one of the most famous examples of which being his work in optics where he discovered that light does not change its properties by entering different mediums. Some argue that his success with this pursuit was made possible by the cross-discipline benefits of working in Alchemy. This notion is supported in his book “Opticks” where he relates light to ‘the alchemical agent’. He posited:

“May not bodies receive much of their activity from the particles of light which enter their composition?” (Newton, Opticks)

How then do we compare the much lauded works of Newton in mathematics and physics to the now discredited pursuit of Alchemy? We must understand that Alchemy was seen as a true science in Newton’s time, and Newton saw it as a way to prove the existence of God – seeing the noble merits within the subject. The processes involved and the methods required to experiment with and document the interactions of varying substances may have even led Newton to successes in other fields rather than serving only as the pursuit of Mysticism. Why then did Newton never publish any works on Alchemy when he did so for other fields? For the reasons stated above, it was dangerous for Newton to do so, and it seems he considered Alchemy as a personal endeavour. Being a religious man, he regarded it more as his duty to his God, and as part of his wider studies of his earth. Many scientists in this time were cross-discipline experts, where they would study many different fields so it was not unusual for Newton to study to seemingly polar-opposite topics. We should include these points when we think of Newton, the man who gave us the means to understand our occupied space. Any way in which he achieved this, is not to be discredited. To quote John Maynard Keynes, the man who bought Newton’s writings in 1936:

“Newton was not the first of the age of reason, he was the last of the magicians.”

Isaac Newton’s dog ruins 20 years of research.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Isaac_Newton_Labratory_Fire.jpg

Noddy Holder (Pre-Slade era, circa 1690)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GodfreyKneller-IsaacNewton-1689.jpg

Bibliography

www.hubpages.com/hub/Sir-Isaac-Newton-Scientist-Scholar-Astronomer

http://quazen.com/reference/biography/sir-isaac-newton-and-alchemy/

http://www.newtonproject.sussex.ac.uk/prism.php?id=46

http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/newton/index.jsp
http://www.cftech.com/BrainBank/OTHERREFERENCE/BIOGRAPHY/Newtonian.html

(Their source: The Wall Street Journal Bookshelf, February 19, 1998 pg. A20)

http://www.morningstarportal.com/idf1.html

AA-Z2: Funding the Large Hadron Collider

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) was built in 2008 to try and recreate the big bang to prove the big bang theory was correct, and to find the force behind the big bang. The large Hadron Collider was built on the Switzerland-France border near Geneva. The Collider is 27 kilometers long in circumference and maximum depth of 175 meters. The point is to try and find the Higgs Boson, which, in theory will describe and explain all the mystery about the known elements in the universe. The theory is that the Higgs Boson attracts all the elements as the Higgs Boson is the driving force of the elements. So, in regards to this theory, the Higgs Boson is the power behind and responsible for the big bang.

 The Large Hadron Collider has already yielded results, generating a mini big bang in November 2010. This was done by lead ion collisions. The experiment created temperatures three times hotter than the centre of the sun, such was the matter and energy involved in these collisions. The temperatures cause protons and neutrons to melt, resulting in a quark-gluon plasma. Quarks and Gluons are sub-atomic particles, some of the building blocks of matter. In quark-gluon plasma they are freed of their attraction to each other. Physicists ale looking to understand more about the nature of the ‘strong force’. This force binds the nuclei of atoms together and this is responsible for 98% of their mass. The main theory is that proton collisions will help spot the elusive Higgs Boson, and scientists will be able to spot new physical laws, such as a framework called “supersymmetry”.

 The Large Hadron Collider has 9300 magnets inside it. These magnets are cooled to an operating temperature of 1.9 Kelvin ( -271.3⁰C), this is colder than deep space. Scientists want to see new particles from the debris of the collisions inside the Large Hadron Collider.  They are looking for new physics past the standard model to explain how sub-atomic particles interact. The standard model contains 16 particles: 12 matter particles and 4 force-carrier particles. The problem is that the Standard model doesn’t explain the four fundamental forces: gravity, describes ordinary matter that only makes up for a small part of the total universe. The standard model mentions the Higgs Boson that is yet to be discovered in an experiment.

The Large Hadron Collider is also being used to further scientists understanding of dark matter and dark energy. Dark matter makes up 23% of the cosmos and dark energy makes up 73% of the cosmos. Little to nothing is known about dark energy and dark matter and they can only be detected indirectly. This leaves scientist mostly left to speculate on the effects of dark energy and dark matter. One theory is that dark matter is made up of “supersymmetric particles”. “Supersymmetric particles” are massive particles that are partners to those already known in the standard model. A leading dark matter candidate is neutralino, the lightest of these “super-partners”.  Theoretical physicists have claimed to link the Higgs echanism with dark energy. The Large Hadron Collider should be able to prove or disprove these theories if all goes to plan in terms of the results the experiments will produce. Evidence of “supersymmetry” will allow for the unification of three fundamental forces- the strong, weak and electromagnetic. This will help explain why particles have masses they have, also with the help of the Higgs boson.

This would provide more evidence for the string theory. The string theory predicts there to be six dimensions or more. Some physicists even provide their own theory on how this may explain why gravity is so much weaker than the other fundamental forces. At high energies, physicists could see evidence of the particles disappearing into a different dimension not previously discovered. The theory is that if they are there, the LHC will find them.

 The cost to the taxpayer of the LHC is £80 million per year, this is money that lot of people who feel could be better spent on say the NHS or donated to charities. The total cost of the project is expected to be around SFr4.6 billion (around £3 billion), with the a single part, the accelerator costs over a billion SFr. The question is what price do we put upon finding out what forms us? After all, the LHC is doing experiments investigating the origins of the big bang theory and what so called “dark matter” is. There is also the question of the amount or return which will be received upon these discoveries. Discoveries from this quest to find the building blocks of life has already given us results it is the research which gave us radiotherapy used to treat cancer and used to destroy tumours. The machine is in fact too expensive to run in winter due to the high price of fuel during the winter months, this should raise questions as to how economically viable it is.

Figure 1 Large Hadron Collider

So should we continue to commit large amounts of money to a project with such unknown results, especially in consideration with the current economic state of the country? Due to the economic situation many people believe that money could be better spent than on these large, expensive science projects such as the LHC. For example money may be better spent on finding a cure for cancer rather than to exams these minute particles. Another supporting point for this side of the argument is that it is curiosity based research and there is going to be no real reason to research such ideas. Many people believe the contrary and think that more money should be given to such projects as it is fundamental to us understanding the origins of life as we know it.

Bibliography

Photohttp://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.universetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/lhc-580x377.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.universetoday.com/35002/large-hadron-collider/&usg=__ie0CpwcGZnqLCwGvm19HKLwsD74=&h=377&w=580&sz=109&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=xIe02kLc9dfGVM:&tbnh=157&tbnw=209&ei=GdJbTcimFce7hAen_tDsDA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlarge%2Bhadron%2Bcollider%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1276%26bih%3D839%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=764&oei=GdJbTcimFce7hAen_tDsDA&page=1&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0&tx=189&ty=93

Websites
www.bbc.co.uk/sci_tech/

www.lhc.web.cern.ch