Durham brains to recreate Big Bang

Sep 10 2008 by Chris Robinson, The Journal

SCIENTISTS are preparing to go where no other has gone before in an attempt to recreate the Big Bang. A research team from Durham University will join international experts in an attempt to examine the very beginnings of the universe.

They will gather at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (Cern) in Geneva today at the switch-on of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a gigantic particle accelerator.

The historic experiment will be the first attempt to circulate a particle beam around the entire 27km of the machine, buried 100m underground.

Scientists will eventually fire two particle beams in opposite directions around the circular construction before crashing them into each other at almost the speed of light.

The experiment next year will recreate, in a very small region, the conditions a fraction of a second after the Big Bang and could offer answers about the structure of the universe.

Although researchers have some idea of what to expect, they admit they also expect the unexpected.

A team from Durham University’s Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology (IPPP) is providing the theory and analysis behind a number of the experiments.

IPPP director Professor Nigel Glover said: “Cern is the world laboratory for doing research into the origins of the universe.

“Our theoretical predictions will play a key part in interpreting the experimental data from the LHC. I have spent many years making predications for the sort of things I hope the LHC experiments will see. It gives us a huge jump in energy compared to previous man-made experiments and will undoubtedly give us a fascinating new insight on how the universe works.”

The UK is one of the biggest contributors to the LHC project.

The Rev Dr David Wilkinson at the institute praised the project. He said: “As a Christian theologian and astrophysicist I am excited by the possibilities. I am amazed by the construction of the LHC and excited by the opportunity to study in detail some of the crucial questions of the composition and early evolution of our universe.

“It in no way worries or undermines Christian faith and I welcome the possibilities of new insights into creation.”

How will the experiment work?

IT will be the first attempt at circulating a particle beam around a 27km Large Hadron Collider (LHC) underground.

After a series of tests the construction will be switched off for maintenance before the actual experiment begins next May.

Two particle beams fired in opposite directions will collide at almost the speed of light, although nothing will be visible to the naked eye. It is hoped it will recreate conditions immediately after the Big Bang. Data will be collected through a computer, although it will produce only as much energy as a hand clap.

What is it intended to do?

To find answers to questions surrounding the behaviour of the universe, from anti-matter to dark matter and the possible existence of additional dimensions of space. Scientists say we know only 4% of the universe and the remaining 96% is not visible.

How much does it cost?

Having taken 20 years to create and been described as the biggest experiment ever to take place, it is thought to have cost more than £3.5bn. The UK’s direct contribution to the LHC is £34m a year.

The LHC is a machine weighing more than 38,000 tonnes and running for 27km (16.5m) in a circular tunnel 100 metres beneath the Swiss/French border at Geneva.