Sixth Form Physics students from St Bede’s College in Manchester helped create their own piece of Bedian history when they paid a visit to the famous CERN – Conseil Européenne pour la Recherche Nucléaire in Geneva. This pioneering group was delighted to be the first school group to visit the European Nuclear Research Centre and to watch the low speed particle collisions.
The group of sixteen students had travelled with their Physics teachers and two language teachers so that they would be able to communicate fully with the famous European scientists. Physics teacher, Michael Byrne, said: “The timing of the trip was perfect. We arrived on November 27 and were in the privileged position of being among the very first members of the public to visit the site since it was switched on and had had its first successful particle collisions.
“We try to impress upon our students that this is what Physics is all about; getting out into the field and seeing how the Physics we teach and learn about has real life applications, and how it can be used to help us answer some of the most fundamental questions about the universe.”
“It was a great trip,” said Sixth Form student, Megan Duffy. “I really enjoyed the experience of being part of history. While we were in the control room lights started flashing, indicating that the explosions were actually taking place beneath our feet. It is a memory that will stay with me for a long time.”
The centre is hoping that, as the particle collisions occur at higher speeds, close to the speed of light, they will be able to shed more light on the formation of the universe and recreate conditions one billionth of a second after the Big Bang.
The visit to the Centre is part of the College’s celebrations marking the first twenty-five years of co-education at St Bede’s. The visit also supports the Nuclear and Particle Physics component of the Physics A-Level.