Accelerators

Here are some interesting clips of accelerators

1) I couldn't find a good one of a linac - but here is something 'similar'

2) Here are some cyclotron videos - despite the strange voice, the first one is pretty good



3) I couldn't find a good synchrotron clip that was short enough - check here for some previous good CERN videos and if you can stomach it - there is a documentary by Brian Cox about CERN below



4) And here is something that I haven't been able to do in 34 years

Standard Model

It looks like the discovery of the Higgs Boson is going to be confirmed tonight. The standard model is the last focus area of the QTQ elective and thus you should probably know about it.

It would be VERY good to read the following - you don't need to memorise anything at this stage - but being AWARE of what the Standard model is would be very good.

1) From the Sydney Morning Herald - a surprisingly good video explanation: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/weve-observed-a-new-particle-leaked-video-reveals-apparent-god-particle-confirmation-20120704-21g63.html

2) An outstanding website - read all the links down the left (each one is a small PowerPoint like page) - covers A LOT of the QTQ elective http://www.particleadventure.org/standard-model.html 

3) A brief summary http://superstringtheory.com/experm/exper2.html

4) The standard model summarised into a picture - http://www.pha.jhu.edu/~dfehling/particle.gif

5) & two articles about 'where to next' http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/07/supersymmetry-explained/ & http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/theo-le-bret/higgs-boson-beyond-the-standard-model_b_1641492.html

6) My attempt at a mind map summary of the QTQ elective - you should be able to follow the top half - the bottom half is what is coming up. Click on the pic for the big version or you can find the original (and the website where I made it - its a free login and very easy to use) - here

7) Below is a very interesting video on how the Large Hadron Collider (LHC, ie The Synchrotron at CERN) works.

Here is another 'general population' clip about it

Here are three about what happens during a collision. The 'hairy' looking second & third videos are actually tracks of the paths of all the new matter (particles) created during two real collisions between lead ions at an energy of 574 TeV. That they can make those tiny ions collide at that speed/energy is incredible, that such collions actually MAKE new matter is amazing, that they can detect and track it all at such high speed and in such short timeframes blows my mind.

8) And - fianlly - I'm reposting this because it is so good:

The clips below aren't the best quality - (its the best I could upload to the blog) for the full experience see here (though you should watch the second one on the page first, then the top one).

9) And while we are on the topic of QTQ - you should probably look at this too: http://drblurg.blogspot.com.au/2011/08/cloud-chambers-qtq.html 

Standard Model and Particle Accelerators

THIS website is the best!

Read all the pages by clicking on ALL the links and sublinks on the left and you will learn A LOT about the last part of the Quanta to Quarks elective.

Particle Physics is freaking amazing!

The Bomb

No I'm not talking about this blog  (haha, but that does remind me of the joke about the two  drums and the cymbal that rolled down the hill) - but the Manhattan Project.

Physicists should take the time to read the following Wikipedia sites (and despite what you might have been told: Wikipedia is awesome!):

• Manhattan Project
• Bombing Japan

But this is also awesome Operation Gunnerside - the German nuclear threat was real and taken very seriously. Apart from that there were lots of amazing commando raids in WWII related to capturing or studying German technology, or destroying critical resources - the Green Beach raid is another.