They say a picture says a thousand words – so here is my story of a summer at CERN in 12,000 words.
Welcome to CERN baby! – this year’s crop of summer students gather in front of the Globe for a group photo (first to spot me gets a postcard!)
The sun was shining and the weather sweet – the summer held much promise. And with CERN located in the midst of agricultural estates, there were a few nice strolls to be enjoyed too.
We got acquainted with the stars of CERN – a cross section of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Notice the two beam pipes through which particles circulate around the 27 km circular accelerator in different directions.
And its giants – the gargantuan particle detector, CMS. This 12,500 tonne beasty is located 80 metres underground at a point where the beams of the LHC cross and particles collide.
The weekends afforded a fine opportunity to soak up some Swiss culture – here a group of Swiss horn players in Gruyère.
Or to take a quiet Saturday morning stroll around CERN, where you never know what you’ll find – I stubbled across this old decommissioned detector.
Now there was of course some work to be done – my experiment coupling a laser into optical fibres and through a birefringent crystal.
And while most of us came to learn about the laws of Physics, some sought to defy them – Filip levitating.
But we did learn about the stranger goings-on at CERN – Michael “Antimatter” Doser himself explains the workings of the Antimatter Decelerator, which is used in the production of antimatter.
There was plenty of time for a few nights at the movies – a reveller caught in the spotlight at the outdoor film at Perle du Lac, Geneva.
And a few more down the pub – Cian and Donal of the Emigrants jamming in Charly O’Neills.
All in all, it was a rather memorable summer at…
