M
WORLD & NATION
February 19, 2010
V
Recreating the beginning with the Large Hadron Collider
By Amber Reese
Staff Writer
On Feb. 20, the Large Hadron
Collider (LHC) will recommence
operations after undergoing
repairs. The fifth hadron collider
in the world, it is located at the
European Organization for Nuclear
Research (CERN) in Switzerland.
"The Large Hadron Collider has
one simple but audacious aim,"
said CERN physicist Brian Cox on
the Discovery Channel's "The Big
Bang Machine," "to recreate the
conditions of The Big Bang in an
attempt to answer the most pro
found questions of our universe."
Smashing protons into each
other at near light speed within
its 17 mile long circular tunnel,
the LHC contains four massive
particle detectors that photograph
the particles as they collide, break
apart and recombine. According
to the New York Times, each pro
ton requires up to seven-trillion
electron volts in order to reach the
appropriate speed.
From these experiments, physi
cists hope to find the Higgs boson
particle in order to prove the Higgs
Field theory. Named after English
theoretical physicist Peter Higgs,
this theory explains how matter
attains mass. If proven, it could
shed significant light on how sub
atomic particles colliding in the
Big Bang led to the formation of
the greater universe.
"By far their most challenging
quarry has been the Higgs, the
last missing piece of the standard
model of particle physics, thought
to give mass to its fellow particles
by acting sort of like a molasses
through which they all have to
plow," said JR Minkel in a 2008
article in Scientific American. "If
the Higgs exists, everyone is con
fident that the LHC will find it."
"The Higgs brings simplic
ity and beauty to a nature which
looks too complicated," said Dr.
Leon Lederman on "The Big Bang
Machine." "It introduces a kind
of symmetry and a kind of beau
ty to nature which gives us an
understanding of one of the most
puzzling features of (the Standard
Model)."
The Higgs boson is theoretically
so massive that it will decay into
lighter particles almost instantly.
Therefore, finding the Higgs boson
requires finding its decay.
However, because creating a
high mass particle like the Higgs
could statistically produce a black
hole in the wake of its decay, the
LHC has garnered some concern
both inside and outside of the sci
entific community.
"There is a minute possibility
that they could create a big enough
mass in a small enough space that
it could become a black hole, but
on the same level, there is a min
ute possibility that when you sit
in a chair, the atoms in your body
will go through the atoms in that
chair and you'll fall through," said
Assistant Professor of Physics Don
Smith.
"The probability that you would
go right through is not zero, it's
just so small that it never comes
up," Smith added.
CERN addressed the black hole
fear by creating a risk assessment.
According to CERN physicists, the
fear is misplaced, and the LHC is
necessary.
"If you're going to go for the
big questions, then you have to
go for it," CERN Professor John
Ellis said on "The Big Bang
Machine." "There's no sense in
messing around. If you really want
to understand how the universe
ticks, then the LHC is what you
need."
Despite bad weather, eventful start to winter Olympics
By Andrew Kelley
Staff Writer
A crisp winter breeze, accompanied by the faint
chirping of birds waking up to a fresh Canadian
snowfall - this is something like the typical scene
one would expect at the Winter Olympics after
forking up all that cash to attend such a spec
tacle. Instead, as the Olympians began to flow into
Vancouver, there was a pesky heat wave accompa
nied by the faint sounds of trucks backing in and
dumping snow.
As the Winter Olympics drew closer, the moun
tain on which the snowboarding and skiing events
will be held remained untouched by any sort of fresh
Canadian powder. According to Anne Casselman of
"I don't expect the competition to change.
It's the Olympics; athletes are going to come
to compete."
Bret Peterson, first-year
ready
National Geographic News, Vancouver, already the
warmest city to ever host the winter games, just
experienced its warmest January recorded since
1937.
"Temperatures averaged 44.8 degrees Fahrenheit
(7.1 degrees Celsius), considerably warmer than
the average of 37.9 degrees Fahrenheit (3.3 degrees
Celsius). Average February temperatures for Winter
Olympic host cities are typically below freezing,"
reported Casselman.
In efforts to beat Mother Nature, event officials
turned to a strategy called "snow farming." The
method consists of collecting large piles of snow
from neighboring mountains and transporting them
via truck to the event site.
Just days before events were set to begin,
Vancouver continued with its unusually warm
ways, and snow still had yet to fall.
"That's hilarious, and kind of ironic," said
first year Blane Tobin in response to the news of
Vancouver desperately needing snow. He went on
to say, "If they really need snow that bad, they are
more than welcome to come to Guilford and pick
ours up."
Lack of fresh powder poses potential problems
for Olympic events relying on ideal winter weather
conditions.
"I don't expect the competition to change. It's
the Olympics; athletes are going to come ready to
compete," said first-year Bret Peterson.
He later stated, "Performance would be
affected the most by poor conditions,
you may not see the best show, but the
competitive fire will definitely be there."
As the opening weekend came to
a close, weather conditions on the
mountain still remained questionable.
According to David Crary of NBC News,
the less than ideal conditions delayed the
alpine skiing training sessions, forcing
officials to delay the men's downhill and
super-combined events because athletes
women s
are required at least one training session before par
ticipating in an event.
With slope conditions sketchy to say the least,
Olympic officials hope to keep events running
smoothly and on time. Pushing through a rough first
weekend, which included the death of a Georgian
luger during a practice run, the events have weath
ered the first of many tests from Mother Nature.
But as they stand right now, the Olympics are in
good shape and on schedule. With any luck, the
temperatures in Vancouver will begin to cooperate
and squeeze out a little snow flurry sometime soon.
Three concentric cylinders surround the region in the Large
Hadron Collider where the protons collide. After undergoing
extensive repairs, this "Big Bang Machine" will resume operations
at the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
INLA
INLA agrees to
decommission
Continued from page I
Chastelain's decommissioning
body was unexpected but reflect
ed their analysis that the war was
over," wrote one analyst for the
Irish Left Review. "This should be
seen for what it is: further evidence
of the historic decline of militant
republicanism."
Assistant Professor of History
Philip Slaby agreed, pointing out
that the INLA was among the last
radical groups to throw down their
weapons.
"Most of the other militant
Catholic groups have already
decommissioned," Slaby said.
"(The INLA) were really behind
the wave with the type of guerilla
violence they've continued to
employ."
In a press conference, INLA
spokesman Martin McMonagle
shed some light on their decision
to disarm.
"We believe conditions have
now changed in such a way
that other options are open to
revolutionaries to pursue and
ultimately achieve our objectives,"
he said, according to the BBC.
McMonagle, himself had been
an active member of the INLA and
had been arrested in England in
1993 for participating in a bombing
initiative.
"We make no apology for our
part in the conflict," he announced
at the open of the press conference.
Nevertheless, he confirmed that
the INLA would be disposing
of their weapons and weapons
caches. "We hope that this will
further enhance the primacy of
politics and that it will in time
unite and advance the working
class struggle in Ireland."
Prominent leaders in the region
have been quick to commend
the INLA for its unexpected
cooperation in disarmament.
"The significance of
decommissioning goes well
beyond the removal of arms, as
important as that is," said Northern
Ireland Secretary of State Shaun
Woodward to The Independent.
"It is a physical manifestation of
triumph of politics over violence."
As the INLA turns over a new
leaf, hopes are that Ireland will
finally enter into a time of relative
peace.
According to the BBC, Irish
Justice Minister Dermot Ahern saw
the INLA's cooperation as a major
step towards resolving the drawn-
out conflicts that have plagued
Northern Ireland for decades.
"These events are further
positive developments as we look
to finally close the last chapter of
the conflict and ensure a peaceful
future for all the people of
Northern Ireland," he said.