Scientists Discover 3 New Subatomic Particles
2022-07-08
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1Scientists working with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva have discovered three particles that have never been seen before.
2The European nuclear research center CERN, which built the LHC, recently announced the discovery.
3The 27-kilometer-long LHC at CERN is the machine that found the Higgs boson particle.
4This particle, along with its linked energy field, is thought to be important to the formation of the universe after the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago.
5CERN says the LHC works by smashing two beams together and using special devices to record the results.
6The two beams inside the LHC are made to collide, or hit each other, at four places around a ring.
7There are four particle detectors at these collision spots.
8They are known as ATLAS, CMS, ALICE and LHCb.
9ATLAS and CMS surround the whole collision point with an enclosed detector, CERN's website says.
10The LHCb experiment uses subdetectors to study forward particles.
11These are particles thrown forward by the collision in one direction.
12The first subdetector is close to the collision point, with the others following every 20 meters.
13The LHCb working group observed a new kind of "pentaquark" and the first-ever pair of "tetraquarks."
14The findings, presented recently at CERN on July 5, add three members to the list of new hadrons found at the LHC.
15The research will help physicists better understand how quarks connect, or bind together, to make composite particles.
16Quarks are particles that usually combine in groups of twos and threes to form hadrons such as the protons and neutrons that make up atomic nuclei.
17More rarely, however, they can also combine into four-quark and five-quark particles.
18These are called tetraquarks and pentaquarks.
19LHCb spokesperson Chris Parkes described the new particles in a statement.
20"Finding new kinds of tetraquarks and pentaquarks and measuring their properties will help theorists develop a unified model of exotic hadrons..." Exotic is a term that means unusual.
21Parkes said the exact nature of these exotic particles was unknown.
22He added that the new discoveries will also help scientists better understand already discovered hadrons.
23Physicist Niels Tuning said in a statement that the more careful studies "we perform, the more kinds of exotic hadrons we find."
24Tuning added, "We're witnessing a period of discovery similar to the 1950s..." During that time, new subatomic particles were being discovered which led to new ideas about subatomic physics.
25I'm John Russell.
1Scientists working with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva have discovered three particles that have never been seen before. 2The European nuclear research center CERN, which built the LHC, recently announced the discovery. 3The 27-kilometer-long LHC at CERN is the machine that found the Higgs boson particle. This particle, along with its linked energy field, is thought to be important to the formation of the universe after the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago. 4CERN says the LHC works by smashing two beams together and using special devices to record the results. 5The two beams inside the LHC are made to collide, or hit each other, at four places around a ring. There are four particle detectors at these collision spots. They are known as ATLAS, CMS, ALICE and LHCb. 6ATLAS and CMS surround the whole collision point with an enclosed detector, CERN's website says. The LHCb experiment uses subdetectors to study forward particles. These are particles thrown forward by the collision in one direction. The first subdetector is close to the collision point, with the others following every 20 meters. 7The LHCb working group observed a new kind of "pentaquark" and the first-ever pair of "tetraquarks." The findings, presented recently at CERN on July 5, add three members to the list of new hadrons found at the LHC. 8The research will help physicists better understand how quarks connect, or bind together, to make composite particles. 9Quarks are particles that usually combine in groups of twos and threes to form hadrons such as the protons and neutrons that make up atomic nuclei. 10More rarely, however, they can also combine into four-quark and five-quark particles. These are called tetraquarks and pentaquarks. 11LHCb spokesperson Chris Parkes described the new particles in a statement. 12"Finding new kinds of tetraquarks and pentaquarks and measuring their properties will help theorists develop a unified model of exotic hadrons..." Exotic is a term that means unusual. 13Parkes said the exact nature of these exotic particles was unknown. He added that the new discoveries will also help scientists better understand already discovered hadrons. 14Physicist Niels Tuning said in a statement that the more careful studies "we perform, the more kinds of exotic hadrons we find." 15Tuning added, "We're witnessing a period of discovery similar to the 1950s..." During that time, new subatomic particles were being discovered which led to new ideas about subatomic physics. 16I'm John Russell. 17John Russell adapted this story from a Reuters report and information on the CERN website. 18________________________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20particle - n. any one of the very small parts of matter (such as a molecule, atom, or electron) 21beam - n. a line of energy, particles, etc., that cannot be seen; a line of light coming from a source (such as the sun or a headlight) 22quark - n. (physics) any one of several types of very small particles that make up matter 23hadron - n. a composite subatomic particle made of two or more quarks 24composite - adj. made of different parts or elements 25proton - n. (physics) a very small particle of matter that is part of the nucleus of an atom and that has a positive electrical charge 26neutron -n. (physics) a very small particle of matter that has no electrical charge and is part of the nucleus of all atoms except hydrogen atoms 27nucleus - n. (physics) the central part of an atom that is made up of protons and neutrons; plural - nuclei 28________________________________________________________________________ 29We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 30Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.