We don’t have the first clue about particle physics or even what a regular boson is, let alone the one this Higgs guy is trying to find. But when we stumbled across this app in the Android Market it appealed massively to our inner geek.
LHSee is an app that keeps you updated with events and goings on at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Geneva, as well as providing the layman with a quick demo on how the LHC works.
CERN of course is the international facility where scientists have been attempting to simulate a miniature Big Bang, as a way of attempting to explain the origins of life, the universe and everything.
The app has been developed by students at the University of Oxford’s Department of Physics, “for use by experts and non-experts alike,” which suits us (who sit in the latter category) fine.
There’s a series of introductory videos and explanations for the layman including a ‘Hunt the Higgs Boson’ game once you’re all clued up on the basics. Make sure you do get clued up though as it’s not the kind of game you can ‘get’ unless you know what you’re doing.
The biggest draw of this app however is the promise of “live collision events from the underground detectors in Geneva” sent directly to your Android phone, as and when they happen.
The LHC due to take a short break at the end of this year, with experiments continuing until “mid December,” for a short break, so we ought to be able to track updates real time from our phones now.
LHSee is free to download and works on devices running Android 2.2 Froyo and above.
Source: University of Oxford, CERN
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