WELCOME TO A SMART PROJECT!
The following project is currently under progress by Rhode Island teachers. Although in some activities, the teachers have borrowed and adapted ideas from other teachers and current programs and sources on the Internet, the work is their own. The activities are displayed here in their original form , unedited as they have submitted them. In most cases, these are ongoing projects. The names, school districts, and email addresses of the authors are included. Please feel free to contact the authors with any suggestions, comments, or even participation.Teaching and learning are cooperative efforts.
Particles & Accelerators
An introduction to elementary particles and accelerators for a high school physics course which considers the following three questions.
1. What are the elementary particles and their properties?
2. How do they interact to make normal matter?
3. How are accelerators used to discover their properties?
Particles and Properties.
A simple diagram showing the elementary particles and their masses and charges is a good strating point. Then there is an more detailed chart with information about how the elementary particles interact and combine to form nucleons. These charts make an excellent summary of the Standard Model of the elementary particles
Interactions.
This tutorial gives a basic explanation of what particle physics is and how it has developed starting with the ancient Greeks and ending with the recent evidence for the top quark.
Accelerators.
The third question is answered in this discussion of the types of accelerators and detectors used in discovering and studying elementary particles and their interactions.
Other Sources
While following the interaction and accelerator tours above you will find many links to other sites with a wealth of information about accelerators all over the world. Two that were very interesting were the FermiLab tour, with its presentation of synchrotron (circular) accelerators, and the Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC), for its discussion of linear accelerators. This world-wide list will help you locate some of the others. Every accelarator lab seems to have its network site, but much of what is available is intended for professional physicists. See what you can learn. Good luck.
AUTHORS:
- Jeffrey Champlin JWCNARHS@uriacc.uri.edu Narragansett High School - Narragansett, Rhode Island- physics, mathematics, programming grades 9 -12
- Myrna Cole ride1030@ride.ri.net Narragansett High School - Narragansett, Rhode Island- biology, earth science
grades 9 - 10