CERN to conduct 'Relatively Special' experiment
Posted On: 13/06/16
Most people have heard of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, but most of those people would have little idea what to do with it. A group of physics students from CRGS – they call their team Relatively Special – not only understand particle accelerators, but they have designed an original experiment using the equipment at CERN to the verify Einstein’s theory of Special Relativity. Is their experiment viable? The scientists at CERN think so, because Relatively Special have been chosen as winners (alongside a team from Poland) of the CERN Beamline for Schools Competition; an international competition attracting entries from the best students of physics in the world.
This team of Year 12 A Level Physics students has shown resolve, brilliant organisation and communication skills, collaboration, creativity and an in-depth understanding of challenging physics. They have demonstrated tremendous initiative setting up meetings, discussing options and researching ideas. They have surprised and impressed their physics teachers with a concept for an experiment that goes well beyond the expectations of their A level physics course. Evidently they impressed the physicists at CERN too.
Earlier in the year I was asked by the students if one of the labs could be used to set up a model of a particle accelerator. I thought it would be a good idea – perhaps at the side of the room, out of the way. When I entered the lab a few hours later I was taken aback by the scale of their project; the accelerator model pretty much filled the room with ramps (to accelerate marbles), a marble collimator, scintillators, a decay section in the style of a Feynman diagram, flashing LEDs, Cherenkov counters, cogs, pulleys, and a big finish with a rocket launch triggering the unfurling of their RELATIVELY SPECIAL banner. Impressive (if slightly unnerving), but not as impressive as the experimental proposal delivered a few days later. They had independently created an experimental design for the CERN accelerators that would not only stretch their own understanding of the subject, but also that of their teachers. They are clearly an immensely able and dedicated team of students who will make the most of a trip to Geneva, but perhaps it is the complements already drawn from the brilliant scientists at CERN that will mean the most. Well done Relatively Special!
Comments from the students
After two weeks with countless room changes and lessons missed we finally assembled bright and early on the Thursday morning to film those precious 60 seconds of video. – James Hirst, 12HA
The fact that we won has yet to sink in. This is simply the most brilliant way to connect school kids with real-life, world class scientists. – Tek Kan Chung, 12MH
We had actually just finished our first AS physics exam when our teacher pulled us aside and told us that we had won. We thought at first that he was joking, and even now we still don’t quite believe it. – Henry Broomfield, 12HT
My Mum asked me “What is your team doing in the competition?” To which I replied, “Oh, just proving Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity” – Achintya Singh, 12HT
The marble run proved to have much interest in the school with teachers from all departments coming to have a look. We are so lucky to have such supportive teachers who even taught while we were setting it up in the same room. – Tim Kwok, 12WS
I would say the main thing this competition has taught me (other than Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity), is never to be afraid to think bigger. That’s what I think science and experimental research is all about: coming up with innovative daring ideas and making them a reality. – Jane Li, 12CR
