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World-altering science is going on at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland, and Johannesburg has a part in it.
THE University of Johannesburg (UJ) is involved in one of the largest scientific research projects that mankind has ever undertaken, and the university is positioning Johannesburg as a research destination, says Professor Simon Connell.
It has been involved in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) project for over a year already. "The University of the Witwatersrand will be joining the project in 2010."
The LHC is a gigantic circular ring 27 kilometres in circumference - that is almost the distance from Joburg to Centurion, in Pretoria. It is 100 metres underground and spans the border between Switzerland and France. The nearest big city is Geneva, in Switzerland.
Professor Simon Connell
A particle accelerator, it is used by physicists to search for and study the smallest known particles, such as the postulated Higgs Boson particle, the so-called "God Particle", says Connell. The God Particle is thought to account for the masses of other particles.
The Atlas experiment, the project with which UJ is affiliated, is a part of the LHC. The structure is about seven stories high, the biggest of the four laboratories that have been built there. "There is a field of small elementary particles all around us, which are virtual, meaning they appear and disappear almost instantly."
He explains: "The LHC is able to generate large amounts of energy which may make the Higgs Boson visible, if it indeed exists. The LHC is like a microscope, it will enable scientists to create and visualise conditions similar to a billionth of a second after the ‘Big Bang'. Under these conditions, only the elementary particles, such as the quarks making up a proton existed."
Dark matter
According to scientific research, just 5 percent of the universe is visible, the balance is dark invisible matter and energy. The information gleaned from the LHC it is hoped, will unlock the secrets of the universe.
"It will also enable us to investigate the possibility of higher dimensions; then we will have New Physics."
Elaborating on this point, Connell says: "In the world we live in, you have a TV screen that is two dimensional, containing two dimensional objects. Then you have three dimensional objects in the real world. Science is indicating that is possible that there are up to seven other dimensions, dimensions we cannot access, expect perhaps by using a tool like the LHC."
On the possibility of parallel universes, the LHC may also lead to discoveries. For example, there are expectations that gravitons could leave our universe. One can imagine technologies in the future with which one can harness this.
Other worlds
One idea is communicating with other worlds outside our own. This can be compared to how people are able to talk to someone in a remote area using a cellphone, where communication is via photons, or particles of electromagnetic energy.
"From the LHC, we also anticipate that we may be able to create microscopic black holes. Black holes are dark spots in space. Their gravity is so strong that they suck everything in, including light. That is why they appear black," the professor adds.
Dark matter is another area for discovery. Scientists know that dark matter exists, but still need to verify of what it is made. "Astronomers use the gravitational lensing effect from dark matter as a kind of cosmic telescope, of galactic proportions. This enables, for example, the study of remote planetary systems."
Studies at the LHC might also shed light on "anti-matter particles", the opposite type of matter to normal matter, such as positive electrons instead of negative. When normal electrons and anti-matter electrons collide, they destroy each other and produce tremendous amounts of energy. The mystery is where all the anti-matter in the universe went to.
Grid computing
Not only is UJ positioning Joburg as a research destination, says Connell, it is positioning it as one of the few cities in the world to have high performance computer systems with the highest speed network connection facilities. Thousands of computers across the planet simultaneously connect to each other to solve one problem, in a system known as grid computing.
The way Connell describes the grid, it is as if all the researchers involved are working in one location, though they are spread out all over the world. The information transfer is so fast it is like "the internet on steroids".
On 8 December, for example, the Atlas lab data transfer from all sites to all sites was measured at an average of about 1 200 mega bites per second over a period of 24 hours. "This is about 1 CD's worth of information every second," says Connell.
UJ has sent a student, Joburg-born Claire Lee, to Atlas. She is working on her PhD on the search for the Higgs Boson particle. In addition, in conjunction with the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre in Newtown, the largest science education centre in Southern Africa, UJ will host high energy exhibitions and public presentations on the research.
Master classes will be conducted by UJ, from March 2010. At these, learners and teachers from various schools will be able to analyse data similar to the LHC experiment from Geneva.
The data will be accessed from a simplified computer system, to help search for Higgs Boson and other new objects. "The criterion that qualifies students and teachers to attend is an interest in the sciences," says Connell.
Benefits
UJ's involvement in the project has enabled a technology transfer leading to innovation. "From the information gained, we have been able to invent processing equipment for mines, equipment that can visualise diamonds still encapsulated in chunks of the host imberlite rocks."
Experiments conducted at the LHC have benefited the worldwide web and many types of high tech equipment, such as diagnostic imaging systems in medicine. Even an abstract concept, like general relativity, has applications, such as at the heart of global positioning systems.
Asked what sparked his interest in nuclear and particle physics, a branch of science that aims to explain the building blocks and interactions of nuclei in atoms, Connell says: "I have always had a love of science, wanting to know how things work, and the desire to discover something that would revolutionise the world."
He says that in the near future, quantum physics is one of the fields that aspiring scientists should look investigate. Astrophysics is also a growth area, as the South African Department of Science is working towards positioning South Africa as an astronomical research destination. This is partly related to its niche advantage, for example, the phenomena at the Galactic Centre - the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy - can only be viewed from the southern hemisphere.
For all his searching the universe, Connell is passionate about Johannesburg. "I was born here in Joburg. I studied at Wits and I still live here," he says.
"What I like about Joburg is its energy. People want to accomplish everything by yesterday. Joburg is a real African city. It is an ideal place to promote science. There are so many things to see and do. And the great thing is that you can be in the beautiful countryside within an hour's drive of the city. I have observed that a lot of international and local visitors learn to love Joburg, whether they come for a conference, work or tourism."
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