GAMING

UK engineers and scientists, with their colleagues from around the globe, are eagerly awaiting the 10th September 2008, when the world’s biggest scientific experiment, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will be switched on. The LHC, 100m below ground, is the most powerful particle accelerator ever built by man and will seek answers to some of the most fundamental mysteries of our Universe, from anti-matter to dark matter and the existence of extra dimensions. Whether the LHC confirms or denies leading theories, its results will start a new age in our understanding of physics and the entire Universe. The UK is one of the biggest contributors to the LHC project, which is based at CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory near Geneva in Switzerland. Through the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) which funds the UK particle physics programme, including the CERN subscription, the UK has contributed vital hardware, computing and scientific knowledge. Professor Keith Mason, CEO of the STFC said “This is a historic moment in science; the culmination of decades of work. I believe we are poised on the threshold of a new age of physics. Scientists waiting for the LHC dare to ask the biggest questions that exist in modern science. They want to test our understanding of the Universe and find out if dark matter exists, whether the four dimensions of space-time are it or in fact there are eleven dimensions! They want to know why some particles have mass and some like particles of light, don’t. Using the four detectors at the LHC we will be able to look at these mysteries that go to the very fundamental nature of the Universe.” Ian Pearson, Minister for Science and Innovation, said “The UK is a world leader in science, which is why this Government has invested more than £500m in the construction of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Our involvement in this groundbreaking project will strengthen our already close links with international partners, inspire young people to pursue science and provide exciting developments for UK scientists in the areas of physics, engineering and computing.” Prof Mason added “Whether we discover what we expect or have our theories completely over-turned, the physics textbooks will never be the same again and the UK will have been a vital part of achieving that.” More than twenty research groups across the UK have been involved in preparing for the LHC and UK industry has won more than £270 million worth of contracts from CERN. CERN pushes technologies in engineering, science and computing to their limits, often leading to new developments. The previous major experiment at CERN, called LEP, led to the creation of the World Wide Web. Preparation for the LHC has already led to a number of spin-off technologies in health care, but its greatest potential technology benefit is the Grid – a whole new way of computing invented as a successor to the Web. A vital role in preparation for the LHC has been played by STFC’s in-house research staff, particularly at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL). Work at RAL has included development and construction of vital components of three of the four experiments that have been assembled at CERN, solving engineering challenges to build this state of the art equipment. As part of the UK’s computing effort for the LHC, called GridPP, RAL is home to the UK’s Tier 1 Centre – the first point in the UK to receive, store and distribute the LHC data and handle processing for scientists across the world.