Hyndland Secondary School - RSS Feed

CERN 2014

Cern Trip 2014 — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 21:48:36 GMT

This morning was spent at CERN looking at the Microcosm Exhibition and . This was by way of preparation for the guided tour and gave us great insight to the work being done by thousands of scientists both here and around the world, the engineering challenges of building the infrastructure and assembling the detectors and the benefits to society which are a direct result of this international collaboration.

We had visited the Globe on Tuesday and we were able to see Peter Higgs' famous paper, the first electron cyclotron which we can compare to the accelerators we have now, a spark chamber which reveals cosmic rays and even the first web server - still with Tim Berner-Lee's notice 'do not switch off'.

From the infinitely large to the infinitesimally small, Microcosm gives the key to understanding the secrets of matter. In this exhibition we saw some of the massive apparatus used by physicists to explain the mysteries of the universe. It described the accelerators and detectors showing how each part works!

We lunched in the CERN restaurant spotting potential nobel prize winners, counting the number of languages and being seriously impressed at the quality of the food in their ‘fuel zone’. Aidan ate the most and even the staff were impressed with his plateful!

We started out official tour with an introductory talk from a retired Physicist still keen to share his love of Physics and then on the coach and off to CMS, 9km away in France.

Hard hats on and we descended into the CMS cavern 100m below the surface. With the LHC switched off, the CMS equipment was opened for maintenance and again we were able to see inside the detector and could identify the parts used to track and identify particles produced in the collisions. The detector is 15m in diameter and is described as compact! Once again, we were overwhelmed at the scale of the experimental work here in CERN.

We left CERN around 5.30pm and with no time to unwind, it was a quick change before going out to dinner. Some of the ladies wore dresses and there was even a bow tie from one of the gents!

It was a fondue night to end all fondue nights. Cheese fondue to start, meat fondue for the main and chocolate fondue for pudding. There was traditional music, an opportunity to join in playing the Swiss horn. Nicholas, Davie and Mr Swan accepted the challenge with Adam and Andrew joining in with the cowbell performance. There were empty plates and happy faces all round.

After dessert, Mrs Hayes announced the winners of the Geneva treasure hunt and awarded the prizes. In third place and with a round of applause was Adam, Alistair and David. In second place receiving the Standard Model set of fridge magnets was Scott, Morven and Aidan. First prize, the coveted CERN Standard Model Mugs went to Alice, Ridwan and Kye. There was much laughter as we made our way back to the hostel for the last night.

CERN 2014

Cern Trip 2014 — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 16:29:40 GMT

Day 2

All up bright and early and in contrast to last year's group ready to depart at the appointed hour.

The day started with a tram to the Palace of Nations and we are all very impressed with the transport system here - it is very easy to travel around. We had a guided tour of this fascinating building which houses the United Nations in Europe. It is here that world diplomacy is at work on issues such as disarmament, telecommunications, intellectual property, labour rights, world trade, world health to name but a few. There are examples of world collaboration and commitment to the UN almost everywhere. We saw:

The Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room, decorated by famous artist Miquel Barcelò - though we were asked to leave as there was a meeting on at the time - our tour guide was very embarassed.

The Salle des Pas Perdus, from which you can see the Armillary Sphere and the monument commemorating the conquest of outer space.

The entrance to the Assembly Hall, the largest room in the Palais des Nations - unfortunately closed for refurbishment.

The Council Chamber, where many important historical negotiations have taken place, was in use as a result of the negotiations in relation to Syria. The guide pointed out that this is the biggest humanitarian challenge to face the UN ever.

Gifts presented by various countries to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

The tour guide also told us about the history of the Palais des Nations, formerly the headquarters of the League of Nations.

There was very strict security in place and many journalists on site but we still managed to get a feel for the immense task facing the UN

Everyone was impressed with what they learned this morning.

The afternoon was spent on the Geneva treasure hunt - it remains to be seen who will win the coveted CERN trophy.

CERN 2014

Cern Trip 2014 — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 16:39:34 GMT

Arrived safely after a delayed start.

Travel in Switzerland was easy and we managed to navigate our way from the Airport to the Youth Hostel without hitch.

We have been out to CERN to visit the Globe of Innovation and have just checked into the Youth Hostel. We'll head out to dinner at 6.30pm and are all looking forward to an early night.

CERN 2014

Cern Trip 2014 — Sat, 08 Feb 2014 21:37:06 GMT

Two days until departure. Time for bag packing - camera, towel, clean clothes, spending money.

Mrs Hayes has all the passports - except Mr Swan's.

Meeting at the school at 2.45am on Tuesday.

Hoping the weather is good. We can expect sun, rain, snow or fog - it just depends what weather website you choose!