Under the Swiss Alps this week beams of protons known as Hadrons circled the 27 kilometers of the most powerful particle accelerator (the CERN Large Hadron Collider) in the world for the first time. As those protons begin to collide scientists expect to learn more about dark matter and how mass exists. This NSDL resource features an animation from CERN that illustrates how protons move and collide in the LHC. To understand more about why physicists are so interested in the results of the collision of sub atomic particles at high speeds, however, you might want to listen to the CERN scientists explain it in their own unique way–the “Large Hadron Rap” is now playing on You Tube–current views 2,726,813.
What’s the down side? There is concern that there could be unforeseen consequences when particles begin colliding in October–like the generation of micro black holes, for example. Although the CERN Large Hadron Collider is the biggest so far, it is not the first. While exciting discoveries are eagerly anticipated from the LHC, no disruption is expected from what amounts to this very big physics experiment.
Is it possinle for the “Large Hadron Rap” that is mounted on YouTube to be mounted on TeacherTube.com? Many U.S. k12 schools do not have access to YouTube (blocked by web filters); however, Teacher Tube is accessible to us.
To find out whether creators of the “Large Hadron Rap” might contribute the piece to Teacher Tube you may contact them: Will Barras, PhD student in the department of linguistics and English language at the University of Edinburgh , and science writer (and rapper) Kate McAlpine .
The video is also available at Metacafe (with improved sound): http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1610222/large_hadron_rap/
[…] contest” content is sometimes puzzling, but can be also be useful. When the Large Hadron Collider was about to commence operations in 2008, a group of “rapping scientists in lab coats and […]