Should India supply detectors for 'Big Bang' experiment?
BEL, BARC develop 2,000 silicon
detectors to sense radiation particles after collision
India is supplying silicon detectors
that will play a crucial role in detecting sub-atomic particles that are
expected to be produced after the collision of proton beams during the 'Big
Bang' experiment being carried out by the European Organisation for Nuclear
Research (CERN).
The detectors developed by defence
PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) in collaboration with Bhaba Atomic Research
Centre (BARC) will hold key to sensing the nuclear radiation expected to happen
after the proton beams collide with each other in the 27 km long tunnel built
undergound on the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva in Switzerland.
CERN has built a Large Hadron
Collider (LHC) that lies in the tunnel will witness the collision of opposing
particle beams at high energy levels. The experiment is expected to unravel
most fundamental questions in physics and may shed light on the origin of the
universe.
"The detectors being supplied
by us (India) will be placed exactly at the place where the beams will collide
with each other. The collision point has been made a globe like area of 40,000
cm square which will be covered with silicon detectors like these. Once the
beams collide, the detectors around that place will detect the particles
emitting at that place and define the properties of those particles,"
Nikhil Sharma, Deputy Manager, Integrated Circuits/Wafer Fab and
Semiconductors, BEL told Business Standard.
India is one of the collaborative
countries participating in the experiment. BEL was earlier approached by the
Ministry of Information Technology, Government of India to develop silicon
detectors for the experiment. The experiment will require about 6,000 such
detectors. Other than India, Japan, Taiwan and Russia are also supplying
silicon detectors.
"Only collaborative countries
who want to share their technology and gain from that experiment are
participating in the experiment. By participating in the experiment, India can
also get the experimental results out of the experiment," he added.
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