Why build the Large Hadron Collider? - page 14
Keywords: Physics Report Large Hadron Collider Basic Introduction Grand Unified Theory Cosmic Rays Anti Matter Extra Dimensions String Theory Dark Matter Higgs Boson
By Jenny on 02/07/2009
Level: A Level (Year 13)
Page Number: 14 of 16 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
is £2.6bn, shared mainly between CERN's 20 Member States, the UK’s direct contribution to the LHC is £34m per year [14] could have otherwise been used for any number of purposes, for example in the UK the money spent directly takes away from any domestic projects funding including the money it given for university research grants which could directly negatively affect future science progress [13] Therefore the justifications for the LHC need to be extremely significant. One point to consider is that the LHC’s goals while being of obvious considerable importance to the expansion of scientist’s ability to understand the structure of the Universe (eg. the search for the Theory of Everything) they may sometimes seem to be of little direct practical use to the average person. However often technologies that have been invented for CERN’s previous projects have gone on to have important practical uses like new designs for Detectors then being used in cameras for high resolution biological and medical uses. For example, the same method used in the CMS electro-calorimeter to study high energy physics and to search for strange new particles is used for medical imaging in positron emission tomography (PET) to study body functions and search for cancer. [15]
This is known as knowledge transfer, many of these important devices might not have been invented by outside these large projects.
As well as direct transfers, these large projects also produce spin offs which go on to be of use in everyday life, the World Wide Web is a good example of this. It was invented at CERN to allow international teams of scientists to share information more easily. In fact, the electric light originated in a 19-century curiosity about electricity. [1][16]
CERN sums these points up in a statement on its website: “This research may take us far away from the conditions of everyday life, but because it continually pushes at boundaries in thinking and in technology it is a springboard for many new developments.”[1]
The LHC will also provide an education for the huge number of technical students, Ph.D.s, post-docs, associates etc. that pass through CERN.[20]
Additionally a large amount of the LHC’s budget was spent on European hardware, thereby promoting industry (eg. The 1232 plus spares 14.3 m long dipoles to be produced by European industry - a huge technological challenge).[20] [17]
Finally as a huge international collaborative project it helps promote good international relations.[20]
The plenty of good
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