The Large Hadron Collider: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe (Astronomers' Universe)

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the largest engineering project ever undertaken, and one of the most expensive. Why are physicists around the world so excited about it? What secrets of the universe does this gargantuan piece of machinery hope to reveal? What risks are there in operating it? Could the exotic particles that are produced in the collisions—including tiny black holes that should wink into and out of existence— between subatomic particles be a threat not only to humankind but to the planet itself? In this thorough and engaging review of cutting-edge physics and cosmology, you will learn why the collider was built and how it works. You will find out what scientists are hoping to find out and what current aspects of the Standard Model might need to be revised. You will even learn about the quest to identify so-called dark matter and dark energy, which many now feel make up most of what's out there. This is a wild ride into some very unfamiliar and strange territory, but it is well worth your time to explore, as the Large Hadron Collider is set to change some very fundamental ideas of our universe, from the smallest pieces that make it up to the grandest. The story of matter. A few searching questions ; The smallest things ; Mysterium cosmographicum ; A particle primer ; The new quantum mechanics ; Three quarks for muster mark! ; Building the universe ; The Hubble deep field ; Moving forwards The world's most complicated machine. The end of the beginning ; Disappointment and setback ; Court case number 1:2008cv00136 ; Afterwards ; Overview : a proton's journey ; The journey to the LHC ; Collider basics ; The detectors The standard model, the Higgs, and beyond. Generation the first : an acrostic ; Feeling the force ; The Higgs field : achieving mass ; Feynman diagrams ; Searching for the Higgs ; Supersymmetry ; Exotica : going up, going down The Big Bang and the first 380,000 years. The Big Bang ; The critical density and [omega] ; The microwave background ; Primordial nucleosynthesis ; Inflation, flatness, horizons, and a free lunch ; The quark-gluon plasma ; ALICE : in experimental wonderland ; Matter/antimatter : it matters! ; Getting to the bottom of things Dark matters. Interstellar matters ; Where are we? ; Unraveling the nebula mystery ; The galaxy zoo ; The local group ; Galaxy clusters ; Where's the missing mass? ; All in a spin : dark matter found ; Gravitational lenses and anamorphic galaxies ; Some dark matter candidates ; ADMX ; Euclid's dark map ; The MOND alternative ; Dark Stars and Y(4140) Dark energy and an accelerating universe. The measure of the stars ; An expanding universe ; Death throes and distance ; Future sun : take one ; The degenerate world of white dwarfs ; Future sun : take two ; The case of IK Pegasus B ; High-z supernova surveys ; Dark energy and [delta]CDM cosmology ; A distant darkness ; Testing Copernicus The waiting game. Hoping for the unexpected ; Massive star evolution ; The strange case of RXJ1856.5-3754 and pulsar 3C58 ; Small, dark, and many dimensioned ; This magnet has only one pole! ; These rays are truly cosmic ; Looking forward to LHCf ; The king is dead! Long live the king! Appendix A. Units and constants Appendix B. Acronym list Appendix C. Glossary of technical terms. It may at first seem that the world of subatomic physics is far removed from our every day lives. Isn’t it all just a waste of time and taxpayers' money? Hopefully, all who read this book will come to a different conclusion. Collider physics is all about our origins, and this aspect alone makes it worthy of our very best attention. The experiments conducted within the vast collider chambers are at the forefront of humanity’s quest to unweave the great tapestry that is the universe. Everything is connected. Within the macrocosm is the microcosm. By knowing how matter is structured, how atoms and elementary particles interact, and what forces control the interactions between the particles, we discover further clues as to why the universe is the way it is, and we uncover glimpses of how everything came into being. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), in the process of coming online at CERN, is the world’s largest and most complex machine. It represents the pinnacle of human ingenuity, and its physical characteristics, costs, and workings astound us at every turn. We are literally humbled by the machine that has been produced through a grand international collaboration of scientists. This book is about what those scientists hope to discover with the LHC, for hopes do run high, and there is much at stake. Careers, reputations and prestigious science prizes will be realized, and possibly lost, in the wake of the results that the LHC will produce. And there are risks, real and imagined. The LHC will probe the very fabric of matter and it will help us understand the very weft and the weave of the universe. Front Matter....Pages i-xv The Story of Matter....Pages 1-40 The World’s Most Complicated Machine....Pages 41-70 The Standard Model, the Higgs, and Beyond....Pages 71-90 The Big Bang and the First 380,000 Years....Pages 91-119 Dark Matters....Pages 121-162 Dark Energy and an Accelerating Universe....Pages 163-187 The Waiting Game....Pages 189-222 Back Matter....Pages 223-236 This is a wild ride into some very unfamiliar and strange territory, but it is well worth your time to explore, as the Large Hadron Collider is set to change some very fundamental ideas of our universe, from the smallest pieces that make it up to the grandest. --Book Jacket