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The Spirit of Science
Published in Yongyuth Yuthavong, Sparks from the Spirit, 2018
The span of physics ranges from the largest, like space and universe(s), to the smallest, like fundamental particles that constitute atoms, molecules, and all materials. Until a few decades ago, it was thought that the electrons, protons, and neutrons were the most basic constituents, but work on particle physics has changed all this. These particles are in fact composite, made of more fundamental particles. Protons and neutrons are heavy particles grouped as hadrons, which consist of quarks with various properties, and electrons and neutrinos (another elementary particle with no charge) are light particles grouped as leptons. The standard model of theoretical physics classifies all the fundamental particles and governs their interactions, which are basically of three types, namely electromagnetic, weak, and strong nuclear interactions. The discoveries of predicted particles, namely the top quark, the tau neutrino, and recently the Higgs boson, support the standard model. In spite of its success, the model is still not the theory of everything, since it still cannot fully explain the nature of gravity and the existence of dark energy and dark matter. The spirit of science should spur further development in these areas.
Evolution of detectors for particle physics
Published in Radiation Effects and Defects in Solids, 2022
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator (37). Its construction lasted from 1998 to 2008, in the tunnel previously housing the Large Electron-Positron Collider (LEP), 27 kilometers in circumference, at depths between 100 and 175 meters. It contains six detectors, each designed for specific types of exploration. It has already achieved one of its most important goals with the discovery of the Higgs Boson, the long sought cornerstone of the Standard Model of elementary particles (Figure 8).