The researchers who dedicate their lives to science make our world a better

place. Whether they are creating new medicines or devices or they are figuring out the
fundamental laws of nature, they are advancing our ability to navigate and prosper.
Research is a process to discover new knowledge. The National Academy of Sciences
states that the object of research is to “extend human knowledge of the physical,
biological, or social world beyond what is already known.” Research is different than
other forms of discovering knowledge (like reading a book) because it uses a systematic
process called the Scientific Method. The Scientific Method consists of observing the
world around you and creating a hypothesis about relationships in the world.

Physics covers a wide range of phenomena, from elementary particles (such as quarks,
neutrinos, and electrons) to the largest super clusters of galaxies. Included in these
phenomena are the most basic objects composing all other things. Therefore, physics is
sometimes called the “fundamental science”. Physics aims to describe the various
phenomena that occur in nature in terms of simpler phenomena. Thus, physics aims to
both connect the things observable to humans to root causes, and then connect these
causes together. Contemporary research in physics can be broadly divided into nuclear
and particle physics; condensed matter physics; atomic, molecular, and optical physics;
astrophysics; and applied physics.

VIRTUAL VISIT TO CERN.

This week, I had the opportunity to visit the team at CERN, the European Organization
for Nuclear Research, based in Geneva. CERN is home to physicists and engineers who
are helping us understand the structure of the universe. I shared insights into how
CERN can reach the next generation of scientists around the world and discussed how
their work can more effectively educate and inspire the current world we live in via
effective use of digital media techniques.CERN is filled with knowledge that can lead to
new ideas throughout our world. CERN serves as an inspiration for young people to
focus on scientific research as a career. And CERN reminds all of us to remain humble in
our views of what our world is all about, knowing that we will be learning the rest of our
lives about where we live in the universe. From my perspective, scientific researchers at
CERN represent the “quiet role models” of our world. They don’t make movies, do
anything flashy or even want you to know who they are to any great degree. Their body
of work is what we need to know about. The key is how to share their knowledge and
struggles and authentic lives and insights with the world in a way that furthers science.
That is really the only goal. You may also have heard of the Large Hadron Collider,
launched Sept 10, 2008, which beams protons around a 27 kilometer area to understand
what gives matter its mass and to identify what the invisible 96% of the universe is made
of and much more.

CERN’s main function is to provide the particle accelerators and other infrastructure
needed for high-energy physics research – as a result, numerous experiments have been
constructed at CERN through international collaborations. CERN is the site of the Large
Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest and highest-energy particle collider.[8] The
main site at Meyrin hosts a large computing facility, which is primarily used to store and
analyse data from experiments, as well as simulate events. Researchers need remote
access to these facilities, so the lab has historically been a major wide area network hub.
CERN is also the birthplace of the World Wide Web.

Many scientists are excited over the prospect of CERN’s research, particularly at the
Large Hadron Collider. The LHC might shed light on some mysteries that have puzzled
physicists going all the way back to Einstein and beyond. But according to some people,
it might also bring about the end of the Earth. How can one organization using a
machine like the Large Hadron Collider solve universal mysteries, and could CERN
really end all life as we know it?
PRO:

According to our understanding of the universe, the matter we can observe only
accounts for about 4 percent of all the matter that exists. Physicists have proposed a
kind of substance called dark matter that might make up to 25 percent of the matter in
the universe when combined with what we can see. The other 75 percent might come
from dark energy. Some scientists at CERN hope the LHC will uncover evidence of dark
matter.

CERN discovered a hypothetical particle known as the Higgs boson particle. One of the
big mysteries of the universe deals with mass. Why is there mass? What determines if a
particle has mass? A theory called the Higgs mechanism says that there may be an as yet
undiscovered particle that could explain mass. Controlled collisions within the LHC
could produce evidence of this particle.
A further understanding of the universe could lead to amazing practical applications,
including time travel! Some physicists theorize that the LHC could become the world’s
first time machine. They say that time travel to the past might only be possible as far
back as to the invention of the first time machine. Other scientists aren’t convinced by
these theories, though.

CON:

The LHC could also produce black holes. A black hole compresses matter into a point of
infinite density called a singularity. In general, most people think compressing matter
like that constitutes a bad thing – some worry the black holes generated by CERN could
destroy the Earth. CERN scientists say that if the LHC does create black holes, they will
be very small, harmless and will decay almost instantaneously.
CERN might unleash a dangerous substance called strangelets upon the Earth. Like the
Higgs boson particle, strangelets are purely hypothetical. But unlike Higgs particles,
strangelets are really nasty customers. According to some, this stuff could disassemble
any matter it comes into contact with and reassemble it into strange matter. One big
drawback of this strange matter is that it’s lifeless. CERN scientists point out that
strangelets have never been observed in nature and that even if they did exist, they’d
quickly decay before causing any trouble.
Greater understanding of the universe could allow a future super villain unprecedented
access to information that could put us all in jeopardy. Granted, this is a very unlikely
scenario, mostly because CERN is not in Metropolis.

In the end, it seems like CERN has everything under control. Their experiments recreate
conditions that happen in nature all the time, and the world is still standing. The only
difference is that the laboratory conditions are carefully controlled and observed.

Either way, CERN’s activities could have a profound effect on us here on Earth. But the
rest of the universe is likely to stay the course – expanding continuously with little
regard for what we get up to down here on our planet.