Huge Machines Search for Smallest Pieces of Universe
2020-07-12
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1The unusual substance known as antimatter may have appeared in many films about space and the future.
2But it is what real scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, work on almost every day.
3Their research is part of efforts to find out what the universe is made of -- and how it works.
4Based in Geneva, Switzerland, CERN has 23 member nations and includes scientists and other employees from many more countries.
5Their research laboratory is a ring-shaped underground structure.
6It is 27 kilometers around and crosses the border between Switzerland and France.
7In the structure lies the Large Hadron Collider.
8In this huge machine, the parts of atoms called protons are made to crash into one another with extreme force.
9This creates antimatter and other elements.
10But just because physicists can make antimatter does not mean they understand everything about it.
11Antimatter is as old as the universe.
12It is part of its creation, in an event often called the "Big Bang."
13Ludivine Ceard is a physicist with CERN.
14 She discussed one of the theories behind the research.
15"We have this theory that says that right after the Big Bang, there was creation in equal amount between matter and antimatter," she told VOA.
16"If the difference between the two is only the charge, they should have just recombined and left nothing but radiation."
17Ceard added, "However, we are here...So it means at some point, matter took over the antimatter."
18This, Ceard said, shows scientists that there are differences between matter and antimatter that they do not yet know.
19Searching for those differences is one of the tasks for the people at the Compact Muon Solenoid, or CMS.
20That is one of four main experiment sites around the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.
21A muon is one of the so-called elementary particles, one with no smaller parts.
22It is similar to an electron, but heavier.
23And although it is extremely small, the machine built to study it is very large.
24To create muons and antimatter, groups of protons race around a circular structure in two beams, moving in opposite directions at almost the speed of light.
25When the physicists are ready, the beams are focused and made to hit each other in just the right place.
26Rende Steerenberg leads the group in charge of seeing those crashes happen.
27"On either end of the experiments we will switch on focusing magnets so that the beam squeezes," he said.
28This increases the chances of the beams hitting each other.
29Even with 100 billion protons in a group moving in one direction and 100 billion protons moving the other way, only 50 protons are likely to connect.
30Right now, however, the chance of a collision is zero.
31That is because the machine and the experiments around it are in the middle of a two-year work suspension for repairs and improvements.
32This happens every three years.
33But there is still plenty of work to do.
34The CMS project includes about 4,000 scientists from more than 50 countries.
35Patricia McBridge is a representative of the CMS project.
36She said the suspension does not mean scientists get free time.
37"I would say that for us it's an opportunity," she said.
38"We're looking at ways of making the detector better, repairing things, putting in new detectors, and preparing for the future runs which ... will be running until, we hope...2035."
39I'm Pete Musto.
1The unusual substance known as antimatter may have appeared in many films about space and the future. 2But it is what real scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, work on almost every day. Their research is part of efforts to find out what the universe is made of -- and how it works. 3Based in Geneva, Switzerland, CERN has 23 member nations and includes scientists and other employees from many more countries. 4Their research laboratory is a ring-shaped underground structure. It is 27 kilometers around and crosses the border between Switzerland and France. 5In the structure lies the Large Hadron Collider. In this huge machine, the parts of atoms called protons are made to crash into one another with extreme force. This creates antimatter and other elements. 6But just because physicists can make antimatter does not mean they understand everything about it. Antimatter is as old as the universe. It is part of its creation, in an event often called the "Big Bang." 7Ludivine Ceard is a physicist with CERN. She discussed one of the theories behind the research. 8"We have this theory that says that right after the Big Bang, there was creation in equal amount between matter and antimatter," she told VOA. "If the difference between the two is only the charge, they should have just recombined and left nothing but radiation." 9Ceard added, "However, we are here...So it means at some point, matter took over the antimatter." 10This, Ceard said, shows scientists that there are differences between matter and antimatter that they do not yet know. 11Searching for those differences is one of the tasks for the people at the Compact Muon Solenoid, or CMS. That is one of four main experiment sites around the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. 12A muon is one of the so-called elementary particles, one with no smaller parts. It is similar to an electron, but heavier. And although it is extremely small, the machine built to study it is very large. 13To create muons and antimatter, groups of protons race around a circular structure in two beams, moving in opposite directions at almost the speed of light. When the physicists are ready, the beams are focused and made to hit each other in just the right place. 14Rende Steerenberg leads the group in charge of seeing those crashes happen. "On either end of the experiments we will switch on focusing magnets so that the beam squeezes," he said. 15This increases the chances of the beams hitting each other. 16Even with 100 billion protons in a group moving in one direction and 100 billion protons moving the other way, only 50 protons are likely to connect. 17Right now, however, the chance of a collision is zero. That is because the machine and the experiments around it are in the middle of a two-year work suspension for repairs and improvements. This happens every three years. 18But there is still plenty of work to do. 19The CMS project includes about 4,000 scientists from more than 50 countries. Patricia McBridge is a representative of the CMS project. She said the suspension does not mean scientists get free time. 20"I would say that for us it's an opportunity," she said. "We're looking at ways of making the detector better, repairing things, putting in new detectors, and preparing for the future runs which ... will be running until, we hope...2035." 21I'm Pete Musto. 22Penny Dixon reported on this story for VOANews.com. Pete Musto adapted this story for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 23_______________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25antimatter - n. molecules formed by atoms consisting of antiprotons, antineutrons, and positrons 26ring - n. something that is shaped like a circle 27proton(s) - n. a very small particle of matter that is part of the nucleus of an atom and that has a positive electrical charge 28site(s) - n. a place that is used for a particular activity 29electron - n. a very small particle of matter that has a negative charge of electricity and that travels around the nucleus of an atom 30beam(s) - n. a line of energy or particles that cannot be seen 31focus(ed) - v. to cause something, such as attention, to be directed at something specific 32squeeze(s) - v. to press together the parts and especially the opposite sides of something 33opportunity - n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done 34We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.