Introduction
As a group of guinea pigs (I mean pilot students and teachers) of the ATLAS project - a physics project where we analysed particle detector data - we were invited to Oxford University for a day of particle physics, project discussions and to lament the suffering we encountered whilst coding.
Hypothesis
The trip would exceed our expectations. Although we are principally uncertain about whether it would exceed our worst or best expectations.
Method
As we arrived at Oxford a little early relative to our schedule, we took photos of the Hooke building, visited the Bridge of Sines (Sighs) and drank some coffee, for a stretch of time. After a fascinating brief introduction to particle physics, we drank more coffee and finally started socialising with the group from MCS (Magdalen College School) and some physics researchers based at the University of Oxford.
Q: What’s the difference between weight and mass?
A: Weight depends on the gravitational field strength, but mass is always constant…
Margaret: No.
Everyone else: Laughter
(Explanation: Margaret is clearly referring to the fact that as anything gets closer to the speed of light, its mass appears to a stationary observer to be heavier.)
Then the fun began. We discussed and presented various physics projects we had done, featuring projects about spectrometers, quantum electrodynamics and, of course, analysing ATLAS (the particle detector) data with lots and lots of code. We were given tours of two physics labs (one was involved in manufacturing silicon detector plates, the other contained lasers and very alarming beeping sounds).
Then a researcher told us about his current project: using magnetic traps and lasers, he cooled clouds of atoms, and he aimed to separate them over several metres, then bring them together again, producing interference patterns which would reveal gravitational waves or dark matter. Both Lana and Miss Constantine were transfixed, it was a project combining lasers, gravitational waves and ‘cold atoms’.
In the afternoon, there was a virtual tour of CERN, followed by reflections and discussions about ATLAS and research, in which we considered what went well, what went badly and what we learned. As the guinea pigs of the project, we also gave feedback to the organisers to ensure the participants next year do not ‘suffer’ as much as we do.
Results
The trip definitely inspired a higher level of excitation about physics in us. We had fun, met some amazing people, and learned so much from exposure to addictive new knowledge. But what matters even more is the project. We learned to persevere, to solve our own problems, to truly experience the advice (for example, “it’s going to be hard”) we have heard too many times. It gave us a taste of real science, where nothing is easy, but also where nothing is better than the satisfaction of finally succeeding. I encourage everyone to give this project and Physics a try next year. It will be worth it.
Elsa, UC5 (Year 11)
Oxford's Bridge of 'Sines' (Sighs)