Alice is
curious about the LHC…
 |
| Large Hadron Collider |
Atlas: It’s one of those expressions that’s
sometimes on the news, so a lot of people have heard of it, but not many can
explain exactly what it is.
Alice: Well, it must be big, and it must
involve impacts.
Atlas: At 27 kilometers in circumference it’s
big, in fact it’s the biggest scientific tool in the world. And yes, it
facilitates collisions.
Alice: Collisions between? That’s the bit I
don’t get.
Atlas: Collisions
between hadrons.
Alice: Hadrons?
Atlas: Hadrons are two types: baryons and
mesons. These contain quarks and antiquarks. Then there are various kinds of
leptons and bosons.
Alice: Suddenly the vocabulary load is too
dense if you’re not an atomic physicist.
___________
Voice-over
In a sentence of 21 words, seven are unknown to
someone not familiar with the standard theory. No wonder the lay person has
only a glimmer of what the Large Hadron Collider does. Two clear words sandwich
a dense expression.
…
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