One of the goals of particle physics is to explain the structure of matter at the smallest distance scales. For decades, the properties of the basic building blocks of matter have been investigated in ever greater detail. However, even today some profound but simple questions, such as the origin of dark matter in the universe, remain unanswered.
The attempt to understand the material world around us in the simplest possible terms has involved ingenious feats of scientific sleuthing. Such fundamental questions are being addressed by using the ATLAS experiment to look at the high-energy collisions produced at the CERN Large Hadron Collider on the French-Swiss border. These energetic collisions provide, for a brief instant, the energy necessary to produce new forms of matter, as was done a fraction of a second after the big bang.
In this online Science Café recorded March 24, 2021, Carleton Physics Prof. Manuella Vincter illustrates how we use the very large-scale colliders to probe the incredibly small, which can provide answers to questions on a universal scale!
About the Science Café
Explore science through Carleton University’s popular Science Café events, now being held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We hope to resume our in-person Science Café talks in the future, generally held twice a month during the fall and winter terms at the Sunnyside Branch of the Ottawa Public Library. For now, you are invited to join us online for a lively discussion around a scientific issue of the day. Be prepared to be informed, engaged and even amused, as our professors share their scientific discoveries with you. All are welcome to join us via Zoom Webinar.
Visit the Science Café website for more information on upcoming online Science Cafés and to sign up for our newsletter, or contact the Faculty of Science by email at odscience@carleton.ca and by telephone at 613-520-4388.
Friday, April 30, 2021 in Event, General, Science Cafe
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