How does the lhc detectors work

Meanwhile, the LHC would continue accumulating even more data. The grid is a network of computers , each of which can analyze a chunk of data on its own. Once a computer completes its analysis, it can send the findings on to a centralized computer and accept a new chunk of data. As long as scientists can divide the data up into chunks, the system works well. Within the computer industry this approach is called grid computing.

The scientists at CERN decided to focus on using relatively inexpensive equipment to perform their calculations. Instead of purchasing cutting-edge data servers and processors , CERN concentrates on off-the-shelf hardware that can work well in a network.

Their approach is very similar to the strategy Google employs. It's more cost efficient to purchase lots of average hardware than a few advanced pieces of equipment.

Using a special kind of software called midware , the network of computers will be able to store and analyze data for every experiment conducted at the LHC. The structure for the system is organized into tiers:. One challenge with such a large network is data security. CERN determined that the network couldn't rely on firewalls because of the amount of data traffic on the system.

Instead, the system relies on identification and authorization procedures to prevent unauthorized access to LHC data. Some people say that worrying about data security is a moot point. That's because they think the LHC will end up destroying the entire world. The LHC will allow scientists to observe particle collisions at an energy level far higher than any previous experiment. Some people worry that such powerful reactions could cause serious trouble for the Earth.

District Court. What is the basis for their concerns? Could the LHC create something that could end all life as we know it? What exactly might happen? One fear is that the LHC could produce black holes. Black holes are regions in which matter collapses into a point of infinite density.

CERN scientists admit that the LHC could produce black holes, but they also say those black holes would be on a subatomic scale and would collapse almost instantly. In contrast, the black holes astronomers study result from an entire star collapsing in on itself.

There's a big difference between the mass of a star and that of a proton. Another concern is that the LHC will produce an exotic and so far hypothetical material called strangelets. One possible trait of strangelets is particularly worrisome. Cosmologists theorize that strangelets could possess a powerful gravitational field that might allow them to convert the entire planet into a lifeless hulk.

Scientists at LHC dismiss this concern using multiple counterpoints. First, they point out that strangelets are hypothetical. No one has observed such material in the universe. Second, they say that the electromagnetic field around such material would repel normal matter rather than change it into something else. Third, they say that even if such matter exists, it would be highly unstable and would decay almost instantaneously. Fourth, the scientists say that high-energy cosmic rays should produce such material naturally.

Since the Earth is still around, they theorize that strangelets are a non-issue. Another theoretical particle the LHC might generate is a magnetic monopole. Theorized by P. Dirac, a monopole is a particle that holds a single magnetic charge north or south instead of two. The concern Wagner and Sancho cited is that such particles could pull matter apart with their lopsided magnetic charges.

CERN scientists disagree, saying that if monopoles exist, there's no reason to fear that such particles would cause such destruction. In fact, at least one team of researchers is actively looking for evidence of monopoles with the hopes that the LHC will produce some. Other concerns about the LHC include fears of radiation and the fact that it will produce the highest energy collisions of particles on Earth.

CERN states that the LHC is extremely safe, with thick shielding that includes meters feet of earth on top of it. In addition, personnel are not allowed underground during experiments. As for the concern about collisions, scientists point out that high-energy cosmic ray collisions happen all the time in nature.

Rays collide with the sun , moon and other planets, all of which are still around with no sign of harm. With the LHC, those collisions will happen within a controlled environment. Otherwise, there's really no difference. Will the LHC succeed in furthering our knowledge about the universe?

Will the data collected raise more questions than it answers? If past experiments are any indication, it's probably a safe bet to assume the answer to both of these questions is yes. To learn more about the Large Hadron Collider, particle accelerators and related topics, accelerate over to the links on the next page.

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Science Vs. Everyday Myths. How the Large Hadron Collider Works. Engineers install a giant magnet inside the Large Hadron Collider, an enormous particle accelerator. Big Bang on a Small Scale. Everything You Know Is Wrong. But the Standard Model is incomplete. It leaves many questions open, which the LHC will help to answer. Scientists started thinking about the LHC in the early s, when the previous accelerator, the LEP , was not yet running.

They use detectors to analyse the myriad of particles produced by collisions in the accelerator. These experiments are run by collaborations of scientists from institutes all over the world. Each experiment is distinct, and characterized by its detectors. Over petabytes of data are permanently archived, on tape. The experimental collaborations are individual entities, funded independently from CERN. For Run 2, the estimated power consumption is GWh per year.

The total CERN energy consumption is 1. Higgs update 4 July. See LHC Milestones. The discovery of the Higgs boson was only the first chapter of the LHC story. Indeed, the restart of the machine this year marks the beginning of a new adventure, as it will operate at almost double the energy of its first run.

Photons themselves leave no trace, but in the calorimeters, each photon converts into one electron and one positron, the energies of which are then measured. The energy of neutrons is measured indirectly: neutrons transfer their energy to protons, and these protons are then detected.

Muons are the only particles that reach and are detected by the outermost layers of the detector. Each part of a detector is connected to an electronic readout system via thousands of cables. As soon as an impulse is registered, the system records the exact place and time and sends the information to a computer. Several hundred computers work together to combine the information.

At the top of the computer hierarchy is a very fast system which decides - in a split second - whether an event is interesting or not. There are many different criteria to select potentially significant events, which is how the enormous data of million events is reduced to a few hundred events per second that are investigated in detail.

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