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09 Apr 04:09

Here’s what happens when 2 proton beams collide at nearly the speed of light

by Kelly Dickerson

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) — the largest machine humans have ever built — specializes in hurling protons at each other at nearly the speed of light. It was powered up on April 5 after two years of upgrades.

The new and improved version of the LHC will be creating energy collisions with stronger than any that have ever been achieved on Earth before. It does this by generating beams of protons — the positively charged particles in an atom — and hurling them around a 17-mile loop to reach nearly the speed of light. 

When protons barrel into each other in head-on collisions, they explode into hot clouds full of exotic subatomic particles:

particle collision

Here's how physicists make these incredible collisions happen:

The first step is to turn hydrogen into protons. Hydrogen is a special element because its atoms only contain two particles: an elecron and a proton. Other elements have atoms with multiples of each and also have neutral particles called neutrons. So it's simpler to isolate protons this way: Just use an electric field to pull electrons off hydrogen atoms, leaving lone protons. 

A beam of isolated protons is then sent speeding clockwise around the giant 17-mile-long tunnel of the LHC, while a second beam of protons is sent counterclockwise.

The LHC has a series of accelerator tubes that rev up the proton beams' speed until they're traveling just a fraction of a second under the speed of light. Supercooled magnets line the tunnel and act like a steering wheel to keep the beams on track.

zooming around lhc

Each proton beam holds 2,000 to 3,000 bunches of protons, and just one bunch is made of about 100 billion protons. Before the beams collide, all those protons are squeezed into a stream that's less than the width of a hair.

"The particles are so tiny that the task of making them collide is akin to firing two needles 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) apart with such precision that they meet halfway," CERN writes in its description of the LHC.

When the beams do collide, their combined energy is enough to melt 1,100 pounds of copper.

The LHC will create roughly 600 million collisions per second when it revs up to full power a few months from now. 

The collisions happen at four points along the 17-mile-long ring. A particle detector is waiting at each point to measure all the subatomic particles that erupt from the collisions. Scientists think this second run of the LHC will reveal a whole suite of new particles that could completely change what we know about physics.

Here's an animation of two beams colliding inside the LHC's ATLAS detector:

particle collision two

The tunnels of the LHC that the protons flow through have vacuum-like conditions similar to that of empty outer space. When two beams collide, all that energy packed into such a small vacuum of space explodes and creates mass in the form of subatomic particles (think of Einstein's famous equation: energy equals mass multiplied by the speed of light squared).

The particles that spawn from these collisions only exist for a fraction of a second, but that's enough time for the particle detectors to do their jobs — to measure the position, speed, charge, mass, and energy of all the subatomic particles that are created.

Higgs Boson

The collisions are so high energy that most of the particles that erupt into existence leave a path of light behind them so it's possible to determine their position. Most detectors also have a powerful magnet that causes the particles to travel in a curved path based on their electric charge. Physicists can also calculate the mass and energy of the particles based on this curved path.

Put it all together and particle detectors can recreate what the collisions look like instantly after they happen. Images like the one above of the Higgs boson are actually just computer recreations of the paths that the particles take during their very brief existence.

That's where we get incredible images like this one from some of the first collisions inside the LHC's ALICE particle detector:

particle collisionAnd this one from the LHC's CMS particle detector that shows over 100 subatomic particles that erupted from a proton-proton collision:

particle collisions

And the iconic Higgs boson:

Higgs Boson

The LHC will be operating at almost twice the power that it was when it uncovered the Higgs boson, so it's very possible that this second run will reveal never-before-seen particles. 

SEE ALSO: The world's most powerful particle accelerator just started running again — here's what it may find

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09 Apr 04:00

This Woman Made Her Boyfriend Take a Beyoncé Exam to Stay in the Relationship

by John Farrier
D G

run as fast as you can

Allie Davis is a fan of the singer Beyoncé. Also, for the moment, she has a boyfriend. She wanted to test whether that latter status would remain. To verify the worthiness of her boyfriend, she gave him a formal written test on popular music. To avoid getting dumped, he had to earn at least 60%.

The exam includes questions about Beyoncé, One Direction, and Nicki Minaj. Presumably (hopefully!), the entire enterprise was made in jest. If not, then I offer my condolences to the boyfriend on his passing grade.

I wonder if I should create a similar exam for my wife. The content would be different, of course.

-via BuzzFeed

09 Apr 03:57

Survive a Police Encounter

09 Apr 03:57

Can we bring back the clever ones?

09 Apr 03:56

My friends cat killed a bird, so he decided to teach it about honoring the kill.

09 Apr 03:56

Who told you to have them all?

09 Apr 03:56

viitta.jpg

viitta.jpg
09 Apr 03:56

Reddit CEO Ellen Pao Bans Salary Negotiations To Equalize Pay For Men, Women

by samzenpus
sabri points out that Reddit CEO Ellen Pao plans to ban salary negotiations in an attempt to equalize pay for men and women. "After losing a sex-discrimination lawsuit in Silicon Valley last week, Ellen Pao continues on her crusade to bring gender equality to the tech world, but this time with a focus on her home turf. As Reddit’s interim CEO, Pao said she wants to eliminate salary negotiations from the company’s hiring process. In her first interview since the lawsuit, Pao told with the Wall Street Journal Monday that the plan would help level the playing field. 'Men negotiate harder than women do and sometimes women get penalized when they do negotiate,' she said. 'So as part of our recruiting process we don’t negotiate with candidates. We come up with an offer that we think is fair. If you want more equity, we’ll let you swap a little bit of your cash salary for equity, but we aren’t going to reward people who are better negotiators with more compensation.'"

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09 Apr 03:55

So I made this final conclusion. Where is my Nobel prize?

09 Apr 03:55

Read the comment

by ghettoredhot

light-up-pillows

The post Read the comment appeared first on Ghetto Red Hot.

09 Apr 03:55

This Isn't a Chameleon, But 2 Women in Body Paint

by John Farrier

Johannes Stötter has incredible skill as a body painter. He composed and staged this elaborate scene. The two models are covered in paint. They work together perfectly to create the illusion that they are, together, a single chameleon climbing over a tree branch.


(Video Link)

Content warning: slightly NSFW due to artistic nudity at the end, when the two models stand up.

-via io9

09 Apr 03:55

Loaded Mashed Potato Egg Roll

by admin

d2loadedmashedpotatoeggroll

09 Apr 03:54

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood looks like it might bring back Nazi zombies

by Michael McWhertor

With the exception of its Nazi-dominant alternate history, its nigh-indestructible protagonist and an army of giant mechs and robot dogs, 2014's Wolfenstein: The New Order was reasonably grounded in reality. But it appears that the follow-up, standalone downloadable game Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, might be dipping into the supernatural based on a brief teaser video from publisher Bethesda Softworks.

On Bethesda's Vine account, the publisher shows off what appear to be undead Nazi soldiers in a variety of gruesome forms. Zombies have appeared in previous Wolfenstein games, including 2001's Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and it appears developer Machinegames is flirting with the arcane for The Old Blood.

One of the game's missions, "The...

Continue reading…

09 Apr 03:53

Some behaviours can be observed at a pretty young age

09 Apr 03:53

Feed me

09 Apr 03:53

Summer camp

09 Apr 03:53

Whale scarred from boat propeller

09 Apr 03:52

When you visit your Grandma

09 Apr 03:44

Behold the power of the beard.

09 Apr 03:44

Makes me cry

09 Apr 03:44

Horses Farting And Snoring

by noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Casey)
09 Apr 03:43

Harry Potter illustrations by Mary GrandPré



















Harry Potter illustrations by Mary GrandPré

09 Apr 03:43

Getting to be part of a wrestling show!

09 Apr 03:42

The parking police at my school are ruthless

09 Apr 03:42

Welcome to Hell

09 Apr 03:42

Cops are routinely using this secret cell phone tracking tool

by Mariella Moon
Big federal agencies with ominous-sounding three-letter acronyms aren't the only ones that spy on your activities -- your local police might be doing it, too. Take for instance, the police department of Erie County, New York, which was recently caugh...
09 Apr 03:41

what_expensive_dessert_look_like.gif

what_expensive_dessert_look_like.gif
09 Apr 03:41

Think you're good at fruits ninja? Think again.

09 Apr 03:41

Photoshop Masters Part 34

09 Apr 03:40

The future is here and Darth Vader likes it.