CERN Issues
Advice On The Capture And Storage Of Higgs Bosons
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC)
team at CERN are now enlisting volunteers who
have home computers to contribute in the search
for the Higgs boson. Details of the project,
called LHC@home 2.0, can be found at http://lhcathome.web.cern.ch/LHCathome/Physics/.
Although superficially
similar to other home computing collaborations,
such as that used by SETI, the underlying concept
of LHC@home fundamentally differs from
earlier such projects.
‘When people first
linked their computers to the SETI@home
experiment,’ explained the SETI Institute's
chief executive, Tom Pierson, ‘large numbers
believed that if they located extraterrestrial
life, the aliens would materialise near their
computers. Many kept a spare bed made up for such
a visitor and a few extra cans of beer in the
refrigerator. This,’ he clarified, ‘was
based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the
science. SETI scans signals from space to find
messages from other worlds. There is no
possibility of personally meeting an
extraterrestrial. The home computers simply
analyse data.’
‘LHC@home
differs because it is not just about
analysing data,’ emphasised Lyn Evans,
project leader of the LHC team, to BBC News.
‘Because sub atomic particles, like the
Higgs boson, can be transmitted in the same way
as any other digital information, the
participating home computers actually form a
physical extension of the main LHC ring.’
When asked why it was
necessary to route the particles through
thousands of home computers, worldwide, Dr Evans
explained that increasing the length of the ring
would allow particles to slow down. ‘The
proton collisions in the LHC occur at 99.9% the
speed of light,’ he explained, ‘and so
any Higgs bosons that fly off are travelling
pretty dammed fast. It makes the little buggers
virtually impossible to catch, even using
butterfly nets with the very finest mesh. We
almost got one in March 2011,’ he confessed,
'but someone had left the laboratory door open,
and we think it got out that way.’
Dr Evans went on to explain
that the extended length of the LHC ring due to LHC@home
should mean that bosons will eventually come to a
halt inside some participating computers. CERN
has therefore issued instructions about how to
retrieve and store a Higgs boson if LHC@home
software on a home computer indicates that one
has come to rest inside a volunteer’s
machine.
‘We don’t know
all the properties of the particle,’ warned
Dr Evans, ‘so it is advisable to wear a full
radiation suit. If people haven’t got one at
home, they should wrap themselves as well as
possible in aluminium foil.
‘The next thing is to
locate the particle, which will require
dismantling the home computer and possibly
breaking apart some of the circuit boards. A
hammer, chisel and hacksaw should be adequate for
this task. The Higgs boson will be very small,
but if sought with a magnifying glass, should be
visible emitting pulsating, greenish, iridescent
light – very similar to the isotope
discarded by Homer in the title sequence of the
Simpsons.
‘The boson can then be
recovered with tweezers. It’s ideal to store
it in a lead container, with walls at least six
inches thick. However, if people don’t have
one in their kitchen or garage, they can put the
particle in a resealable plastic bag, wrap it in
several layers of newspaper and place it in a
sturdy cardboard box.
‘After that,’ Dr
Evans concluded, 'the box should be posted to me,
Dr Lyn Evans, at Freepost Higgs Boson, the
European Organization for Nuclear Research CERN,
CH-1211 Genève 23, Switzerland.’
The LHC@home
website offers further advice to anyone who has
had contact with a Higgs boson. Such individuals
are advised to be vigilant for effects on
themselves, and others within a one block radius,
for at least 24 hours. Abnormalities to look for
are listed on the site, but include: X-ray vision,
ability to fly, superhuman strength or sudden
death.
The site advises that any
such unusual symptoms should be reported to a
doctor and also to CERN at the above address.
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