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So, it is not the most exciting video you have ever seen, but the potential physics discoveries that may come from this machine just might be! Whether it is the discovery of the Higgs Boson, SUSY, or extra dimensions the LHC will help physicists potentially unlock many of the hidden mysteries in our universe. The LHC at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland is the largest machine humankind has ever built. At times, it is also one of the coldest and the hottest places in the Universe. The LHC and all of its detectors allow us to peer deeper into the structure of matter than we have ever been before. The LHC is a 27 kilometer ring, one hundred meters under ground; and the ATLAS and CMS detectors are both many stories high and many meters long buried right down there with it. All this just to look at the tiniest pieces of matter...this is what amazes me. We need to build enormous structures too learn about the tiniest particles. This is not even mentioning the enormous amount of computing needs that are necessary. How do we analyze and store GB of data in the blink of an eye? The computing, engineering, and science has all been pushed to its limits all in the interest of pushing the limits of our physics knowledge. What will be discovered? What new science will be encountered? How many theories will be supported or refuted over the next decade or two? The possibilities are limitless...
The amazing part in all of this is that your students can participate right along with the actual physicists. All of the exercises in this section are using "real" data that has been released from the LHC, or data that students are actually collecting themselves in their own schools. How amazing is that? The elabs all involve the students in analyzing real data from the LHC or from Cosmic Ray Detectors all over the USA. The Masterclass is an all day experience that your students can participate in where they actually experience what it is like to be a particle physicist for a day. They take a field trip to a local university to hear lectures, to take tours of the physics facilities, and to talk with physicists. It is an amazing experience for your students and one that inspires many to pursue a major of physics in college. Of course, you can also just access the website and have your very own Masterclass in your classroom.
CMS elab Investigation The CMS elab allows your students to analyze data from the CMS detector and to perform their very own research studies. This is not for a student that is new to particle physics. But, for students that have participated in a Masterclass and are looking for more or if you are teaching a unit on particle physics and you are looking for a way to challenge your students...here is the perfect exercise. Students will learn how to analyze mass plots and to find out what the CMS detector is discovering without having to travel to Switzerland.
CMS eLab Investigation Rubric This is the rubric that I created to evaluate my students elab projects. I do not give them much guidance and they are expected to work on the project over the course of my 3 week particle physics unit.
CMS eLab Website The CMS elab website is where you will find the analysis tools, teacher use suggestions and student created research posters. I would highly recommend that if you are planning on using the elab with your students that you take a moment and work through it yourself, even creating your very own poster. You will then be more aware of the tools and your students will love seeing what you came up with as your own research study.
Cosmic Ray eLab Website Cosmic rays were one of the first sources of particles for physicists. Charged particles coming from who knows where, streaming through us at speeds approaching the speed of light, all going mostly unnoticed...that is, until physicists designed detectors to hunt for these particles. There are millions of subatomic particles passing through our bodies every second and through the use of a cosmic ray muon detector students across the country and now even across the globe are capturing and counting them. How many muons pass through your detector every second? What influences their arrival rate? Sunspots? Solar flares? Cloud cover? Latitude? Your students can use this website and actually create their very own research study. Unlike the CMS elab, your students do not need a large amount of particle physics knowledge to take advantage of the tools in this site. Just an interest in seeing what we can not see and a desire to look at a lot of data to possibly answer some very important questions. If you are a QuarkNet teacher, you can actually ask for your very own CRMD to be located at your school. Now, your students can collect their own data along with analyze it!
CMS Masterclass Preparation Worksheet As I explained in my introduction to this page, Masterclass is an amazing opportunity for your students to be a physicist for a day. Along with the talks and tours, your students will be analyzing real events from the CMS or ATLAS detectors. Categorizing them and creating histograms all in an attempt to help them find what it is these detectors are actually detecting. They are actually doing exactly the same work that the physicists do...how awesome is that!?! The day culminates with a videoconference with other students from across the country and across the world to discuss what they discovered in their event analyses. A very rewarding, but long, day for students and teachers. This is a worksheet that I use to help introduce my students to what they will be doing with the event analysis. I actually do a mini-Masterclass with all of my students during my particle physics unit.
QuarkNet Masterclass Want to get more information about the Masterclass? Here is a great place to start.
IPPOG Masterclass Want to get even more information about the Masterclass? You can check out this site and find out what is happening all across the world.
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