Smashing Things Together

Why colliders collide

An interactive lesson with 6 steps, about 5 minutes: you predict, drag and solve, with instant feedback on every answer. It runs in your browser and needs JavaScript.

What you’ll learn

• Colliders beat fixed targets: $E_{\text{cm}} = 2E$ versus about $\sqrt{2Emc^2}$.
• Magnets bend beams in circles of radius $p/eB$.
• Protons radiate far less than electrons in rings; electrons give cleaner collisions.

Steps

1. Energy you can use
2. Fixed target or collider?
3. Bending the beam
4. Why protons, not electrons?
5. Laps per second
6. Messy collisions