Taking pictures of particles and other stories from a high energy physicist
Do you want to know how to measure a new particle and what the biggest questions in particle physics are? If so, then this 30 minute live talk about particle physics at CERN using the ATLAS detector is for you! After the presentation, there was a 30 minute question and answer session. This talk is… Continue reading Particle Physics at CERN – Live Talk | Fundraiser for Mermaids UK
As I mentioned in my last post, this week I'm at a workshop discussing the development of semiconductor devices that can survive in the very heart of experiments on the LHC (and beyond!). This collaboration is call RD50 and is, unimaginatively, the 50th research and development group at CERN. This workshop meets twice a year; once at… Continue reading RD50 Workshop
The last ten days or so I've spent at CERN testing new designs of pixel detectors for the ATLAS experiment. Since it was the IOP's #iamaphysicist event on the same day we were setting up, I tweeted out the following picture. https://twitter.com/claranellist/status/735752393724284930 To measure our pixel detectors, we need a beam of particles from a… Continue reading Test Beams
I have a new flatmate now who has a keen interest in science. The other day when I came home he asked (in French) "What did you do today?". It's a simple question. Although it doesn't always have a short answer as I also knew that he also wanted to understand, what do I do on… Continue reading An average day
Last Saturday was the Séminaire Poincaré at l'Institut Henri Poincaré in Paris. There was a whole day of talks on 'Le Boson H' which translates to 'the H[iggs] boson', although for reasons that may soon become apparent, it was only referred to as the H boson in the talks. Unfortunately because of a flight that evening, I could only… Continue reading Séminaire Poincaré
This week I've been at the Higgs Hunting workshop in Orsay near Paris, France. This also happens to be my home institute, so there was no travel involved. The conference is three days long and brings together theorists and experimentalists from around the world to discuss current Higgs results, and also to explore what we can… Continue reading Hunting the Higgs
It's been roughly nine months since I successfully defended my PhD thesis, and since then I've moved on to a new job, so I didn't expect graduation day to be a big deal. I would put on the colourful robes, walk onto the stage to shake someone's hand and collect my certificate - job done… Continue reading Graduation Day!
In my last post, I wrote about the second year anniversary of the Higgs boson discovery, so it was very timely that the weekend directly afterwards I spent at the Royal Society's Summer Science Exhibition, talking to the public about the Higgs boson and where it could lead. The exhibit was a partnership of many… Continue reading Higgs Boson and Beyond
Today is the Higgs boson's second birthday! It was on this day, the fourth of July, in 2012 that the Higgs was unveiled to the world with the now immortal words of CERN Director General, Rolf Heuer, "I think we have it". Before the announcement was made, the atmosphere at CERN was like a rock concert.… Continue reading Happy Higgs Day!
Last August (in 2013) the first LHComedy stand up show was held at CERN. I was in the final months of writing my PhD thesis, so obviously that was a perfect time to place myself at the mercy of a stand-up comedy crowd. You might be asking, "why do a science comedy show?". The word scientist… Continue reading A physicist walks onto a stage…
