Marcel Merk : Outreach

Information on Particle Physics

There are web pages with information for the public available for CERN as well as for Nikhef .

CERN can be visited by the public. More information is here. Also Nikhef organises each year an "open dag".

A short explanation about CERN is given in a 3 minute movie. There is a fun web page available for young children: CERNland.

Startup of The Large Hadron Collider (LHC)

There are many clips available on YouTube clips when you search for "CERN LHC"; for example CERN and the LHC. A particular entertaining one is the Large Hadron Rap . The following 6-minute video explains how the LHC works

Particles were first sent through the LHC collider ring in August 2008. In September 2008 an accident occurred with the Helium cooling system. An explanation in a YouTube clip can be found of what went wrong with the LHC.

LHC Run-1 started with proton injections in the ring on friday evening November 20, 2009. The latest news can be followed via the CERN twitter page, via the CERN youtube video's and via the LHC portal.

Run-1 included 3 years of operation (2010-2012) at collision energies of 7 TeV and 8 TeV GeV, the first LHC run ended and the experiment is being prepared for the upgrade to a full collision energy of 13 TeV. A dutch artikel in the magazine KIJK is here. The discovery of the Higgs boson was announced on July 4,2012. The, somewhat emotional, announcement in the CERN auditorium can be seen in the in this youtube video.

Run-2 included 3 years more of operation (2015-2017) with collisions at 13 TeV. The LHC provided a wealth of data on the Higgs boson, searches for new particles and forces, a state of matter called the quark-gluon plasma as well as on measurements related to the matter - antimatter asymmetry.

Run-3 started in 2022 at a record energy of 13.6 TeV. The aim of run-3 is to collect data with improved detectors and at a higher collision rate.

Information on the matter-antimatter asymmetry mystery

The famous theoretical physicist Paul Dirac developed the theory of relativistic quantum mechanics and found that there was a beautiful symmetry in the formula (now called Dirac equation) that he discovered. From this symmetry, he predicted that for each fundamental particle there should also exist an mirror antiparticle. These particles and anti-particles should feel identical forces and when the meet they annihilate into energy. As a consequence we are faced with the mystery: "why is there a universe of matter instead of nothing"? or "Why do we exist?" This question is addressed in an excellent talk shown here . There turns out to be a delicate asymmetry between matter and antimatter that is studied with high precision at the LHC by the LHCb experiment, by measuring decay processes of unstable particles called B-mesons. Information on results of the LHCb experiment can be found here.

In addition the quest for antimatter is summarized in a brochure (10 Mbyte pdf-file).

The book "Angels and Demons" from Dan Brown has attracted a lot of public attention to the subject of antimatter. Together with the premiere of the movie CERN has opened a dedicated Angles and Demons web page and a bulletin.

Presentations

The following links contain presentations for the public on the topics of particle physics and antimatter (in Dutch):

• Presentation to Ministry Infrastructuur en Waterstaat, GWFP, 5 Oct 2023: Waarom bestaat er iets in plaats van niets?.
• Presentation at Sterrenwacht Vesta, Oostzaan, 21, Sept 2023: Waarom bestaat er iets in plaats van niets? pptx and pdf.
• TechnoBorrel, Nikhef, 1 May 2023: Waarom bestaat er iets in plaats van niets? pptx and pdf.
• Presentation at KNVWS Arnhem, 19 April 2023: Waarom bestaat er iets in plaats van niets? pptx and pdf.
• Presentation at Triangulum, 2 June 2022: Waarom bestaat er iets in plaats van niets? pptx and pdf.
• Presentation at Paradiso Amsterdam, 10 April 2022: Waarom bestaat er iets in plaats van niets? pptx and pdf.
• Presentation at PAS festival Maastricht 2021: Why is there something rather than nothing? (EN) and Waarom bestaat er iets in plaats van niets? (NL), 4 August, 2021.
• Talks on "Higgs, het mysterie van de verdwenen antimaterie en het getal 3" at at Weer en Sterrenkundige Kring Zaanstreek, 24 Oktober 2019, Volkssterrenwacht Noord Drenthe, 22 March 2019, and Nikhef Technici, 24 April 2019.
• Presentation at Nikhef during Fysica 2019: Het mysterie van de verdwenen antimaterie en het getal 3, 5 April, 2019.
• Talk at the "Past Rotary Club Maastricht": Zwaartekrachtsgolven, 26 November, 2018.
• Talks on "Relativiteitstheorie en Zwaartekrachtsgolven" at the Rotary club Gulpen-Vaals, 20 pril 2018, and Politieke Scholing en Sociale Vorming voor vrouwen Gulpen-Wittem, 11 March, 2020.
• Studium Generale, Maastricht: Higgs, het mysterie van de verdwenen antimaterie en het getal 3, 29 March, 2018.
• Science cafe, Nijmegen: Higgs, het mysterie van de verdwenen antimaterie en het getal 3, 8 May, 2018.
• Talk "Higgs en het mysterie van ontbrekende antimaterie" for "Jongerencollege Sterrenkundeclub Radboud", Nijmegen, 3 March, 2018, and "Volkssterrenwacht Orion", Bovenkarspel, 11 April 2018.
• Talk at the "JC van der Meulen stichting", Hoorn: Recente ontwikkelingen bij de LHC, 14 Oct, 2016.
• Talk at the "Past Rotary Club Maastricht": Relativiteitstheorie en Zwaartekrachtsgolven, 9 May, 2016.
• Talk at "Aperture" Maastricht Science Programme: Higgs and the mystery of missing antimatter, 13 April, 2016.
• Talks at the "ProbusII Club Maastricht": Higgs en het mysterie van ontbrekende antimaterie, 16 March, 2016, and at the "Rotary Land van Horne": Higgs en het mysterie van ontbrekende antimaterie 17 May, 2017.
• Talks for NNV studenten in preparation for CERN visit: Higgs and the Mystery of Missing Antimatter, 11 Sept, 2015; Cern en Large Hadron Collider experimenten>, 9 Sept 2016.
• Talk at the Masterclass "New Physics" in Maastricht: New Physics and Antimatter, 9 March, 2015.
• Talk at the "Past Rotary Club Maastricht": Quantum Mechanica, 14 January, 2015.
• CERN introduction at Cygnus gymnasium 2014: CERN.
• Lessons at Cygnus gymnasium Autumn 2014: Lesson-1; Lesson-2; Lesson-3; Lesson-4; Lesson-5.
• Talk at the "Past Rotary Club Maastricht": Higgs, 25 November, 2013.
• Talks at Nijmegen, Leiden, Arnhem and Venlo departments of the KNVWS, Bemmel Veldschuurlezing and Nikhef Masterclass: "Het Antimaterie Mysterie": Nijmegen, 24 april 2013; Leiden, 29 october, 2013; Arnhem, 20 march 2014; Venlo, 25 september 2014; Bemmel, 10 feb 2015; Hoorn, 9 okt 2015; Ede, 3 okt 2016; Amsterdam, 1 april 2014.
• Studium Generale Universiteit Maastricht: De ontdekking van het Higgs deeltje, 11 oktober 2012, Maastricht.
• Talk at the "Past Rotary Club Maastricht": Mysterieuze materie, 23 april 2012, Maastricht.
• Presentation primary school Reijmerstok: Onderzoek aan het aller-grootste en het aller-kleinste, 19 maart 2010, Reijmerstok.
• Studium Generale Universiteit Maastricht: Materie en Antimaterie, 18 maart 2010, Maastricht.
• Studie Dag Octopus: Introductie Nikhef & CERN, Deeltjesfysica met de LHC, 26 Oct, 2009.
• Het Bernini Mysterie: Feiten en Fictie, Nikhef Open Dag, Amsterdam, 10 Oct, 2009 (includes a movie!).
• Feiten en Fictie in Angels & Demons, Tuschinski, Amsterdam, 13 Mei, 2009.
  Related articles appeared in the dutch newspapers NRC Next and Parool as well as in the popular scientific paper KIJK.
• Waar is de anti-materie heen? European Master Class, Nikhef, March 19, 2009.
  In 2008 as well as 2009, this presentation was recorded by City TV
• Primary School Particle Physics, Octopus, Diemen, 26 September, 2008.
• Nikhef Open Dag, Nikhef, 21 October, 2006.
• You can listen to a pod-cast of the "Hoe?zo Kettingvraag" where I try to formulate an answer to the question: Waarom is er zo weinig antimaterie in het heelal?
• Here is a link to a radio interview of the Wereldomroep, on August 7, 2009.
• Here is a link to a BNR radio interview on the observation of the Bs->mumu decay, May 15, 2015.