CERN Switzerland

I recently took a trip with my peers to Switzerland to see CERN (The European Organization for Nuclear Research)! This is the most impressive physics laboratory I have ever seen. Being in the exact spot in which a particle was discovered was mind boggling to me, honestly I’m still trying to grapple with the idea now. What impressed me most was the precision at which they had to calculate the production of the machinery to be able to accelerate particles at the speed at which they do. I had done some research before going on the trip which proved to be very rewarding, as it really allowed me full immersion during the tour.

Also, after the tour I purchased a book about antimatter that I began reading on the bus ride back to Milan and am currently about halfway through it. At first it seemed like an alien concept to me, but listening to the tour guide and reading about it in my book, I was really able to understand it. It should only make sense that every subatomic particle should have a particle oppositely charged and with an opposite magnetic moment that can cancel the other out. This concept was thought of as fictitious for a long time, even to professionals. It was also mentioned that antimatter is most difficult to find due to the fact that most pairs of matter particles and antimatter particles have already cancelled each other out, which is what happens when they come into contact with each other. Meaning, that antimatter would have to be found before the collision occurs, which is quite difficult. We also haven’t had contact with antimatter on Earth, except for one instance in which it was said to have hit our planet. In CERN, however, antimatter is made (on a small level of course, otherwise it would be dangerous) and studied. It blew my mind!