Model-making Choose an element with an atomic number between 1 and 20. Make a model of the atom to include the particles in the dense nucleus and the electrons around the outside arranged on energy levels. You can use materials such as wire, card, plasticine, etc.
Case Study CERN and the study of sub-atomic particles
All atoms are made of three sub- atomic particles (protons, electrons and neutrons), but what are these particles made of? This is the work of particle physicists. At CERN (Europe’s nuclear research centre based on the French - Swiss border) scientists, including several from Ireland, have been working to find the answers to these questions for the last 60 years. One piece of equipment they use for this is the Large Hadron Collider. It is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator. It is made of 27 km of pipes or tubes surrounded by massive magnets. It holds the world record for being the largest piece of scientific equipment in the world, for producing the highest temperature recorded on Earth (over 5 trillion o
C)
and for providing the first ever proof of the existence of the Higgs boson. The
Higgs boson is most simply described as the particle that contains the mass in the atom, and therefore all the mass in the universe. The Large Hadron Collider causes two beams of protons to speed up and travel in opposite directions until they are travelling almost at the speed of light. When they are travelling fast enough, scientists allow them to crash into each other. This smashes the protons up into a spray of even tinier particles (including the Higgs boson) which are detected by high-speed cameras and other devices. Scientists then study the properties of these particles. Scientists believe that reactions like this took place back when the universe was first formed. They hope that by studying these reactions and particles they will learn more about the creation of the universe itself.
Fig. 8 The Large Hadron Collider at CERN.
Fig. 9 Using the Large Hadron Collider scientists try to recreate reactions which they believe took place when the universe was first formed.
