Science Quickly This Podcast Was Recorded Inside a Particle Collider
11 snips
May 9, 2025 In this engaging discussion, Alex Jentsch, a staff scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory, takes us inside the fascinating realm of particle physics. He explains the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and its role in unlocking atomic mysteries, including quarks and gluons. The conversation flows to the intriguing quark-gluon plasma and the advancements leading to the upcoming Electron-Ion Collider, which promises to deepen our understanding of matter. Jentsch shares experiences from the control room and highlights humanity's insatiable curiosity about the universe.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Recreating the Early Universe
- The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider recreates conditions just after the Big Bang by smashing heavy ions to melt protons and neutrons into their constituents.
- This lets scientists study a quark-gluon plasma, an exotic state of matter existing for tiny fractions of a second.
Quarks and Gluons Inside Protons
- Protons and neutrons are not fundamental; they contain quarks held together by gluons.
- The strong nuclear force mediated by gluons is much stronger than electromagnetism, binding quarks very tightly.
Managing Collider Operations
- Accelerating particles to speed near light requires synchronizing over a thousand magnets while ramping up their fields.
- Running experiments requires managing environmental factors like power grid stability to avoid disruptions.