Year 12 Visit to CERN

On Thursday 19 June, the Year 12 Physics cohort woke at 03:00 - but despite the tiredness, it was all worth it. A trip to the airport and a swift 2 hour flight landed us in Geneva at 9:30, ready for an epic particle-smashing adventure.

The early start meant we could make the most of our time there, starting off with the United Nations headquarters - just a tram ride away from our hotel. It’s an amazing building: the aspect that interested me the most was how the meeting rooms were themed. Each one contained different features relating to the country that contributed to its construction. Artwork and sculptures around the site represented peace and international achievement; the atmosphere acting as a reminder of the purpose of the UN, what it stands for and its history - having been founded in 1945 to support the fragile peace that rose from the ashes of World War Two.

Next on our busy schedule was the Musée d’histoire des sciences - the History of Science Museum. An amazing array of exhibits showed us the development stories behind groundbreaking scientific equipment and how the methods in our search for the world's secrets have evolved over the ages.

A break from the schedule came in the evening. Splitting into groups, we explored the city of Geneva: my group did some statue sightseeing, visited a dance festival and ordered some pizzas for dinner! I’m sure the other groups had some equally exciting experiences.

Then it was the big day: our visit to CERN. The first place to visit was the detectors. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a huge 27km ring used to accelerate particles close to the speed of light, then bring two - travelling in opposite directions - crashing into each other. This causes them to shatter into a multitude of fundamental fragments. The detectors are responsible for tracking which particles are created, allowing researchers to learn more about the origins of our universe. An elevator brought us down to their underground home so we could admire the time, money and technical genius that goes into every part of CERN’s equipment. Even more exciting was that a calibration test was going on: it meant we couldn’t get close to the collider, but our guide showed us how the strong magnetic fields attracted a chain of paperclips - despite the 7-meter-thick wall of concrete separating us from the collider. It was surreal seeing the sheer power of CERN’s cutting-edge equipment.

That evening, we had another venture around Geneva before we left the next day. It had been an amazing trip: a reminder of how important scientific research is to humanity and what can be achieved with the largest and most powerful particle accelerator in the world! Seeing how far Physics can take us also renewed our enthusiasm in class - showing us the research we could be taking part in if we decided to pursue a career in this field. I can say for myself and everyone that went it was phenomenal, and we are very grateful to the school for providing such an amazing experience.

Writer: Kamren (Y12)
Photos: Constance (Y12)
Editor: Benjamin (Y12)