Are there parallel universes? What’s dark matter? What’s matter, for that matter?
If you’ve ever asked yourself those questions, you’ve engaged with a number of the most pressing
mysteries of physics. And you may wish to show to Instagram — affirmative, Instagram — for more information.
It seems that
the social media network is filled
with great science
photos, and the granddaddy
of all labs, CERN, additionally runs
a behemoth of an Insta
feed.
The world’s largest particle physics laboratory,
CERN is home to the massive hadron collider, a mammoth particle
accelerator that’s astonishingly photogenic.
Located in a 17-mile-long tunnel deep beneath the border of France and Switzerland, the LHC has high-energy particle beams crash
into each other at
nearly the speed of light.
Researchers hope that by studying what
happens next, they can eventually
resolve huge physics
mysteries, like whether there are an infinite variety of parallel universes out
there, why there’s so much dark matter within the universe and what
it’s made up of, and whether particles have invisible
“partners” which may facilitate explain weird
inconsistencies within the standard Model of particle physics. (The standard Model is the best description so far of the particles
that make up the
universe and how they act).
The LHC is offline because it’s being upgraded by scientists; however that pauses is
photography’s gain. The Instagram feed is crammed with photos of the upgrades to the particle accelerator. Its colorful elements are paired with commentary that helps you perceive what you’re observing. It’s a way to visit the far-off atom smasher without putting down your phone.
CERN’s feed isn’t all dedicated to the LHC.
Historical pictures are accessible, too, as well as posts highlighting the work of its
international scientists. The behind-the-scenes view of scientific ambition
is value a follow.