In April 2024, a group of six students, now in the Upper Sixth, took part in Beamline for Schools, a particle physics competition run by CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, in Geneva, Switzerland.
The challenge was to propose an experiment which could be conducted using one of the low energy beams at the particle accelerator.
The group, consisting of Upper Sixth students Matthew, Finn, David, Jake, Tara, and Meg were supported in their endeavours by Dr Suruliz, a Trinity parent. Dr Suruliz previously worked as a Theoretical Physicist both at Cambridge and at CERN, and his expertise was greatly appreciated. The group met for a number of sessions to consider how detectors work, and how the data is analysed.
The final submission proposed an experiment to investigate a phenomena called the Bragg Peak – used in proton therapy – and, in particular, how the width of a Bragg Peak might be controlled by adjusting the standard deviation of protons within a beam.
The final project was shortlisted as being in the best 50 submissions out of a strong international field of over 400 entries. The group were awarded with a ‘make your own particle detector’ – which has been kindly donated to the school – as well as T-shirts which have further consolidated their sartorial dominance of Sixth Form fashion…
Well done to all students for their efforts, and many thanks to Dr Suruliz for his support in this project.
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What is a beam and a beamline?
In particle physics, the term ‘beam’ refers to a large number of particles moving in the same direction. These particles can be accelerated to high energies. The term ‘beamline’ commonly refers to a straight section of a particle accelerator leading the particles to an experimental area.
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