The Large Hadron Collider is the highest energy particle collider ever built, smashing protons together at record energies. But how would a physicist looking at data from these collisions make a breakthrough discovery, like a new particle? The answer might not be what you expect!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After hearing a seemingly simple question from his dad, Evan started thinking about how some aspects of particle physics at the LHC can be misunderstood. In crafting a thorough answer to this brief question, he walks us through the basic strategy behind measurements at a proton-proton collider, explaining why we often need millions of data points to identify the fundamental constituents of the universe, and how quantum physics can be random in a precise and predictable way. After giving his own personal explanation, he is joined by his colleagues Aliya and Federico for a more informal conversation. Together they discuss the realities of working on particle physics, what excites them about their research, and what future directions the field can take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n