In November 2009 I wrote about the first experimental laps of the LHC that sub-atomic particles were taking. I have also written about the Synchrotron just south of Oxford, about the standard model and atoms and molecules more generally. It would be worth going back and re-reading them and maybe having a bash at the questions.
This has come to mind today because the BBC reports that protons are once again circling the 27 km circuit at Cern. They have not started colliding particles yet but they have whizzed them around in both directions at about the speed of light. The scientists at the Large Hadron Collider are hoping to double the energy at which they collide protons – heading towards 13 trillion electronvolts. It could be that at these energies some secrets of the Universe, such as the nature of Dark Energy or Dark Matter, might be revealed.
Questions…
- What is the speed of light in a vacuum (in m/s)?
- What charge does (a) a proton have? (b) an electron have?
- What can you say about the number of electrons and protons an uncharged atom has?
- What is the third particle commonly found in atoms?
- What is an isotope?
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