Astronomy Ireland Public Lecture Report
"Black Holes, The LHC & The God Particle"
by Dr. Cormac O'Raifeartaigh, Waterford Institute of Technology
Monday, 14th June 2010
Trinity College, Dublin
| Order DVD HERE |
On Monday, June 14th, Dr Cormac O'Raifeartaigh of WIT astounded a packed Ed Burke Theatre in Trinity College Dublin with his amazing knowlegde of particle physics and cosmology, as he explained the workings of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and what is expected for it to achieve.
Dr O'Raifeartaigh outlined the history of particle accelerators, including the 'grandfather' of the LHC, which was used by Waterford man Ernest Walton to smash protons into a lithium atom, resulting in the first nuclear reaction. The audience were held captive as Dr O'Raifeartaigh made the esoteric science behind nuclear reactions and quantum physics perfectly accessible to all.
The history of major physics theories was summarised, and Dr O'Raifeartaigh explained how various theories of forces may be unified into a final 'Theory of Everything'. All these forces - electrostatic, gravitational, nuclear - can only be unified at very high energies, and this is where the Large Hadron Collider comes in. Dr O'Raifeartaigh described the development and construction of the LHC, with focus on some of the exciting instruments it will use to make scientific history. It was explained how our current understanding of the Universe will be affected, while justifying why the World’s leading scientists have spent over 6 billion euro of taxpayers money on an experiment which aims to prove how the fabric of the Universe is built. The experiment which takes place at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) on the Swiss-French border involves smashing particles together at unfathomable speeds using equipment in a 27 mile ring weighing thousands of tonnes.
After the lecture, members of the audience accompanied Dr O'Raifeartaigh to the Lombard for some refreshments.
Be sure to order your DVD copy of this amazing lecture now!
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This lecture is available to people nationwide on DVD.
To order a copy of the DVD simply: Order by credit/ debit card online HERE Call (01) 847 0777 Alternatively post a Cheque or postal order to: June 2010 DVD, Astronomy Ireland, PO. Box 2888, Dublin 5. Cost: DVD’s cost €7 each (add €5 for P&P for any number of DVDs) |
Acknowledgment: Astronomy Ireland would like to thank the TCD Astrophysics Research Group for hosting AI public lectures in Trinity College Dublin.
