Particle collision photos-what exactly do they show?

Can someone explain whats going on there with the spirals and how the make new things?

I'd love to know too. I assume you'd need a good understanding of maths to decipher what's in the photos though even after knowing what it all means.

Originally posted by NLDelta9
Can someone explain whats going on there with the spirals and how they make new things?

The spirals are called particle tracks, and they show the paths that different particles take. Accelerators make new things by smashing old things together really hard and seeing what sticks.

I don't see a photo to explain in the thread but I'll just toss a little something out there.

When they collide two particles together what is ejected is more particles. We do not yet know what the finest grade of matter is, so by smashing various atomic or sub-atomic particles together at extremely high speeds we can break them apart to "see" what they are made of. All manner of reactions happen within collisions between various type of particles. Sometime we measure the constituent particles, sometimes exotic particles that do not exist in a stable form naturally are glimpsed for a split second before they either dissipate or bond with another particle to form a new stable particle.

Why do they create patterns and spirals though? They seem really non-random for a collision.

Originally posted by Fiberx
I don't see a photo to explain in the thread but I'll just toss a little something out there.

When they collide two particles together what is ejected is more particles. We do not yet know what the finest grade of matter is, so by smashing various atomic or sub-atomic particles together at extremely high speeds we can break them apart to "see" what they are made of. All manner of reactions happen within collisions between various type of particles. Sometime we measure the constituent particles, sometimes exotic particles that do not exist in a stable form naturally are glimpsed for a split second before they either dissipate or bond with another particle to form a new stable particle.

But why do they even spiral and not act like regular collision?

reply to post by Nventual


Other than being able to say that the resulting spray of finer particles can bounce around within the magnetic field inside of the machine (that's how they propel the particles and keep them aligned) and even bounce off one another, I can't give a specific explanation. I do not know know specifics well enough to imagine a theoretical explanation for a spiral path other than the aforementioned.

Edit-
Actually, on second thought, I do have a potential direction to point you. There is law governing the behavior of photons when they interact with a strong magnetic field that results in the following field lines and their path becomes a sort of elongated spiral. These collisions do produce light energy and so you may be seeing the photons being tracked in those spirals. Allow me a moment to grab a link.

Originally posted by Nventual
Why do they create patterns and spirals though? They seem really non-random for a collision.

The trajectories of the particles resulting from a collision are curved due to the magnetic fields in the detector. You are correct that they are non-random. They are guided by the magnetic field in repeatable trajectories. This makes analyzing the energies and trajectories of the resulting particles easier (or even possible?).

Originally posted by Fiberx
reply to post by Nventual

 

Other than being able to say that the resulting spray of finer particles can bounce around within the magnetic field inside of the machine (that's how they propel the particles and keep them aligned) and even bounce off one another, I can't give a specific explanation. I do not know know specifics well enough to imagine a theoretical explanation for a spiral path other than the aforementioned.

That would make sense.

Thanks guys

reply to post by NLDelta9


Here

Scroll to the very bottom of the page and read "Particle Detectors".

The whole thing is a good intro to particle physics.