Tiny Hadron Collider

Posted August 24, 2008 by Ash

Not your average robotics project but interesting nonetheless, I am currently building a model of the Large Hadron Collider. The project, aptly dubbed the Tiny Hadron Collider, will consist of a ring of Charlieplexed LEDs controlled by an Arduino (probably connected to a laptop communicating with another laptop) set in a scenic scale model of France and Switzerland. One of my friends is working on the rest of the landscape while I concentrate on the collider ring and LED control.

It has to be finished and working by the 10th of Sept when they start the first high energy collisions of the *real* Large Hadron Collider and we have our "Black Holes are going to destroy the planet" party so I better get my arse into gear! ;)

Pics of the build so far:

 

9 Comments

  • On 08.24.08 Anonymous said:

    You could use a single led spun by a motor instead.

  • On 08.24.08 kym said:

    Interesting!

    I presume the idea is that particles will fly around in opposite directions and smash together somewhere, releasing other particles.

    Maybe v2 can replace the red leds with 2-colour ones. ;)

  • On 08.24.08 robotman said:

    Wow! That’s ambitiuous Ash!
    I like the idea - it looks and sounds like a great fun project! (But how much multiplexing are you going to have going on there?) Don’t get too smashed at the party okay!!! (hahahahaha, man that’s funny :-)

    P.S. To ‘anonymous’: you can’t have a motor with a single LED because the collider sends 2 (two) protons in opposite directions around the ring until finally, wham! they are allowed to smash into each other. Two LEDs on motorized arms might be a bit tricky, mechanically.

  • On 08.24.08 JTankers said:

    Cool project. I used to do interesting stuff like that when I was younger. I once created a junction box to allow Atari “digital” (non-proportional) joy sticks to work on an Apple ][ Computer. Fun.

    Read this article and let me know what you think.

    http://www.scientificblogging.com/big_science_gambles/professor_rossler_takes_on_the_lhc

  • On 08.26.08 ash said:

    To Anonymous above, I know that is you Ed you son-of-a-mofo :)

    Ed (who I work with) keeps telling me that a string on a motor is a better way to do it.

    My ancestors didn’t crawl out of the oceans all those years ago to recreate the most fundamental experiment the human universe has ever seen with a light on a string man! :)

    Also I dont want people at the pary to lose their limbs when they try to touch it :)

  • On 08.26.08 PirCapAdi said:

    How about a POV based system?  :-p

     http://www.johndawson.org/projects/POV/POV.html

    Will look really cool in the dark…

  • On 09.02.08 kymhorsell said:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j50ZssEojtM

  • On 09.02.08 PirCapAdi said:

    I wonder if the last LHC was built about 15 billion years ago? Hmmmm….

  • On 09.03.08 ash said:

    Hehe, coincidence? I think not… :)