Large Hadron Collider Report
Hannah Borai
Borai 1
AP Chemistry
Mrs. Landgraf
November 1, 2014 Large Hadron Collider Report
The large Hadron Collider is the largest particle accelerator ever built. Hadrons, heavy subatomic particles like protons, account for the name of the particle accelerator.
Its primary use was to look into the structure of the atom. In the early twentieth century, scientist though that they had the inner structure of the atom figured out and that there were three fundamental particles to the atom: the electron, proton and neutron. However, by the late twentieth century, scientists realized the complexity of the subatomic particles and that these fundamental particles were made up of even smaller particles. The device used to reveal these even smaller particles is called a particle accelerator, which takes a small particle, such as a proton or electron, and get it to smash into an atom at close to the speed of light. It is the same as taking a machine and breaking it to see what was inside. The only way to collide highenergy particles in the 1920s was through the use of cosmic rays. Earth is always hit with cosmic rays, so scientists conducted experiments on mountain tops where they were more common. With a particleaccelerator, the particle is pushed through a series of electromagnets and accelerates until it hits a target on the other end. Once the particles hits the target, what was inside can now be observed.
Borai 2
Particle accelerators are laid out in a straight line, which was far too long and unwieldy for labs during that early time period. Ernest Lawrence, an American physicist, wanted to overcome this problem and realized that by making it circular, he could accelerate a particle in a much more compact accelerator.The circular accelerator, called a “cyclotron”. would be set between two poles of an electromagnet in which the charged proton would be held while moving in a spiral path. Lawrence won the
Borai 1
AP Chemistry
Mrs. Landgraf
November 1, 2014 Large Hadron Collider Report
The large Hadron Collider is the largest particle accelerator ever built. Hadrons, heavy subatomic particles like protons, account for the name of the particle accelerator.
Its primary use was to look into the structure of the atom. In the early twentieth century, scientist though that they had the inner structure of the atom figured out and that there were three fundamental particles to the atom: the electron, proton and neutron. However, by the late twentieth century, scientists realized the complexity of the subatomic particles and that these fundamental particles were made up of even smaller particles. The device used to reveal these even smaller particles is called a particle accelerator, which takes a small particle, such as a proton or electron, and get it to smash into an atom at close to the speed of light. It is the same as taking a machine and breaking it to see what was inside. The only way to collide highenergy particles in the 1920s was through the use of cosmic rays. Earth is always hit with cosmic rays, so scientists conducted experiments on mountain tops where they were more common. With a particleaccelerator, the particle is pushed through a series of electromagnets and accelerates until it hits a target on the other end. Once the particles hits the target, what was inside can now be observed.
Borai 2
Particle accelerators are laid out in a straight line, which was far too long and unwieldy for labs during that early time period. Ernest Lawrence, an American physicist, wanted to overcome this problem and realized that by making it circular, he could accelerate a particle in a much more compact accelerator.The circular accelerator, called a “cyclotron”. would be set between two poles of an electromagnet in which the charged proton would be held while moving in a spiral path. Lawrence won the