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9.11.2008

Rockin' [with] the LHC

I'll come right out and say it: this is not at all a gluten, dairy, soy, nut, or anything food related post. Of course, there are no [food] allergens in subatomic particles, now are there? Sometimes I've heard of (and suffered from) a mild allergy to physics [homework], but no allergic responses to particle physics, so here goes!

As many of you know, by day I work in nuclear astrophysics (I love LENA, though our site is very outdated). What many of you (other than my parents who probably don't remember) don't know is that I did a brief stint in particle physics years back. I can't really claim more credit than that in the recent CERN LHC experiments as I spent only an internship at the University of Iowa in particle physics. However, I can proudly state that I came quite close friends with these cool little (very expensive) custom tubes which detect light given off by particle interactions inside a detector. In fact, I dreamed about Hamamatsu photomultiplier tubes (PMT) for a good few months after returning to my neck of the woods in Georgia and the safe haven of nuclear physics. If anyone is wondering how and why we need to characterize the dark current and radiation-exposure response of every single PMT going to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) @ CERN, the European Centre [Organization] for Nuclear Research, then email me. Just don't make me give another speech or seminar on it... please, pretty please?

A pictorial side-slice of the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) detector on which a few of the pieces I tested are used. The colors and lines show tracks of various particles (charged particles like protons or electrons) and muons (the long blue line). Credit: CERN

Besides, this short video is much more interesting than my summer of testing equipment and writing computer codes for equipment used in the current experiments at the LHC. Plus, humor is great for your health. Congrats to you, LHC. I know this accelerator runtime is quite a hard-earned victory a long time in the making.



Cindalou's Kitchen Blues: Healthy Celiac / Coeliac Gluten and Dairy Free Recipes

89 comments:

  1. I knew it! And I rest my case!

    You see, I called you a nerdette in my recent blog post, but with great respect and I also linked to you. And this "Rockin' with the LHC" couldn't be more perfect! When people hit the link, this is what they get. Yeah!

    Rock on, Cindy. I love it! You're the best!

    Melissa
    xo

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  2. Lol, thanks Melissa! I loved your sugar post, I am lazy and never got around to my part of it (yet). Your post is such a great detailed intro that I think my job's been made obsolete :)
    I wonder the same thing you mentioned about the high fructose content in agave, but I don't use it very much or often. Cinnamon is a great sweetener itself, but we keep the house stocked with a few natural options like agave, wild honey, unsulf. blackstrap molasses, and organic brown sugar. Oh, and Stevia- I do like the convenience of the stevia packets for travel. Have you ever tried a fresh leaf of a live stevia plant? It's fantastic (and very very sweet)... but I'd never eat it if I had one. I tend to let my herbs grow with very little harvesting- I just love to garden!
    Argh! I am responding to your sugar post on my nerdiness blog post, oops. Ok, I am heading over the Gluten Free for Good to thank you now :)
    -Cindalou

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  3. wow. seems like you are a more complicated individual than meets the eye. cook and physicist. what else am i missing?

    great job in this blog.

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  4. Hey Cindy. You have done a wonderful job. Congratulations. Keep it up.

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  5. Yow lets rock...I love the video. It makes me rock n' roll...I want more!

    Cindy you're such a talented person. You make me feel jealous...LOL

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  6. wow i am insanely impressed! i was asleep when teacher taught physics in school... you see there is a huge difference between being allergic to it and missing out on it entirely :)... btw love the vid!

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  7. WOW ! Cindy, you have done a great job . It is a wonderful post. Keep it up.

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  8. Nice video, fun filled with information about the cosmos. Looks like those scientists are enjoying their ride.These mysterious stuffs have always thrilled me.

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  9. I am impressed with your blog. A scientist and a chef. What a wonderful combination. :)

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  10. Great work Cindy! I love the video. Very few people can juggle cooking and science. Keep it up.

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  11. impressed with your blog,scientist and a chef wonderful combination...........

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  12. Nice post. You Brain. ;p Seriously though, very interesting to hear you were at the University of Iowa. I live in Des Moines.

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  13. Thanks for posting nice info... keep going the good work...

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  14. beautiful! compliments, even for the blog>!

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  15. congratulations for the blog, even if I put a little more color

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  16. Just found your blog and very impressed with you as such a versatile talented person. I'm personally interested in diets, healthy food and interesting gluten free recipes. Would like to join your community if you don't mind :)

    Thanks and God Bless!

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  17. Thanks for posting nice info... ready going the good work

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  18. congratulations for the blog! even if I put a little more color

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  19. I found this topic really interesting!Keep writing more!!!

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  20. Heres me thinking this was a health blog. Now im learning about astrophysics. Great post, many thanks.

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  21. I have a friend working on the LHC. He is much smarter than i am, obviously, but i always joke to him "please don't destroy the earth". he just laughs at me like im some inferior human being. i probably am. :-)

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  22. Very well explain, thanks for taking the time for doing this!

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  23. Thanks for all the enthusiasm you offer in every article you post!

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  24. I found this topic really interesting! great info shared

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  25. Wonderful video I feel glad to watch this...i love to visit here very often..

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  26. why are they shutting down the LHC for a year? didnt they just fix it a few months back? well, i suppose i wouldn't do a better job of making one so i shouldnt complain but im really excited to see what results they can produce!

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  27. I am personally interested in diets, healthy food and interesting gluten free recipes. Would like to join your community if you don't mind. thanks..

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  28. Fantastic video I just love to watch this...I would really like to join your community..

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  29. First off, hats off to you for your wonderful Job. I know very less people working in that category or profession. In fact It's the first time I know one and that's you. It's a complicated job to understand especially for us, at first when I saw that graph I thought it was a Stage design. LOL!

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  30. I like this vedio.I must say you have lots to share.

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  31. Wow, that's really is something to be proud on. This is not a day to day job for everyone. I salute you!

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  32. hi this is so informative post which i want to read it ... this so useful for us....

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  33. Congrats for the blog man...I really like this great video a lot...

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  34. i enjoyed your blog, thanks for posting.

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  35. Very informative post dude. Bookmarked now. Anyway I am new to this blog and glad to meet you.

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  36. Nice post, great job. Thanks for sharing.

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  37. Great shared information, for me that is very detailed which is easy for us to understand, it's not a usual presentation for most of us, but thanks for sharing you made us understand your work. Keep up the good work!

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  38. Hello Guys,

    I just want to share this to all of you about
    The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. The LHC lies in a tunnel 27 kilometres (17 mi) in circumference, as much as 175 metres (574 ft) beneath the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva, Switzerland.

    This synchrotron is intended to collide opposing particle beams of either protons at an energy of 7 trillion electronvolts (1.12 microjoules) per particle, or lead nuclei at an energy of 574 TeV (92.0 µJ) per nucleus.[1][2] The term hadron refers to particles composed of quarks. It is expected that it will address the most fundamental questions of physics, advancing our understanding of the deepest laws of nature.

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  39. Oh, yes It rocks... too much fun and enjoy...

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  40. I like this video. and thanks for posting.

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  41. Great detailed information, I ll be visiting you more frequently, here is very interesting information.

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  42. It is much fun listening this rocking thing, cool :)

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  43. Well we are going to rock tonight in our farm house :)

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  44. I missed it...hope you have done well.....

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  45. Am really impressed your post.. its a perfect job & clear explanation.. thank you for time spending time for us..

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  46. WoW! Cindy ~ You are the ultimate multi-tasking female. I found your post extremely interesting. Having worked for CSIRO in Australia, I have been following the Hadron project with interest.

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  47. This is so informative post its really so usefull i like to read it thx

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  48. lol...I thought it was merely about physics..haha..I was surprised when I saw the staff dancing...

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  49. Interesting this such a good start a dancing workers its extremely fun. :)

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  50. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It is expected that it will address the most fundamental questions of physics, advancing our understanding of the deepest laws of nature.

    The LHC lies in a tunnel 27 kilometres (17 mi) in circumference, as much as 175 metres (574 ft) beneath the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva, Switzerland. This synchrotron is designed to collide opposing particle beams of either protons at an energy of 7 teraelectronvolts (1.12 microjoules) per particle, or lead nuclei at an energy of 574 TeV (92.0 µJ) per nucleus.[1][2] The term hadron refers to particles composed of quarks

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  51. Thanks for sharing about guts.I was not knowing about it.

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  52. Thanks for this nice post. Its very interesting and helpful for those who are looking for these kind of info.

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  53. This is a really excellent read for me. Must admit that you are one of the best blogger I ever saw. Thanks for posting this useful article.

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  54. Great Performance. LHC will discover all secrets of universe.

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  55. This is a really excellent read for me. Must admit that you are one of the best blogger I ever saw. Thanks for posting this useful article.

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  56. Great video you've shared. I'm still under impression. Regards

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  57. Its really look delicious...I will try it someday :)

    thanks
    zaki

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  58. Thank you for sharing this article, It is a topic that not everyone would dare to speak about, The writings show me your intelligence, Very nice, Keep it up.

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  59. The scrutiny is in convincing fact the freshest topic on this consistent subject. I am be in harmony with your conclusions and will strongly look forward to your about to happen updates.

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  60. Awesome Post & Most Important Awesome Links, Very Useful Post, I may Consider it While Moving thinking

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  61. Heres me thinking this was a health blog. Now im learning about astrophysics. Great post, many thanks.

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  62. First off, hats off to you for your wonderful Job. I know very less people working in that category or profession. In fact It's the first time I know one and that's you. It's a complicated job to understand especially for us, at first when I saw that graph I thought it was a Stage design. LOL!

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  63. You never fail to impress me, Cindy. Aside from being a good cook, you also worked as a nuclear astrophysics. Keep up the good job, Cindy.

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  64. Well this post this very useful for everyone. Because, we can learn lot many thing from here. Thanks for this inf.

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  65. Really nice video and i like this video. Thanks for sharing.

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  66. This is a great article. I am pretty much impressed with your good work.You put really very helpful information. Keep it up.

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  67. I am glad to visit your blog.. I found this post is really useful one.. I really enjoyed reading and hope you keep updating it frequently!

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  68. Much interesting video with great equipment!

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  69. I enjoyed reading your articles. This is truly a great read for me. I have bookmarked it and I am looking forward to reading new articles. Keep up the good work!

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  70. hi there its really very informative. appreciated man keep on giving information to the people. thanks indeed.

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  71. I am visiting your site for a past one month. I feel happy by reading these blogs. These blogs are very much useful for me to gather more experience. Keep on posting...

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  72. This is the perfect blog for anyone who wants to know about this topic. It contains truly information. Your website is very useful. I admire the valuable advice you make available in your expertly written content. I want to thank you for this informative read.

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  73. really amazing blog and I was thankful to you for sharing such a useful information.

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  74. The blog is absolutely fantastic. Lots of great information and inspiration, both of which we all need. Thanks.

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  75. Just found your blog and very impressed with you as such a versatile talented person. I'm personally interested in diets, healthy food and interesting gluten free recipes. Would like to join your community if you don't mind

    ReplyDelete
  76. That’s pretty good article. I really like this article and you are given here really a wonderful information.I tried that & its really worked….

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  77. thanks for sharing, i really find this content helpful and i must add this link into my archive or bookmarks.

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  79. Excellent blog to all of us,this blog really good information for the future. Thanks 

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Hi! Thanks for taking the time to comment :) Your comments help drive this healthy gluten free community.

As a token of our appreciation, our blog is DoFollow. In addition, as a top commentator, your blog/website will be linked on our frontpage. Thus, your comments here benefit your website, our website, and, ultimately, celiac awareness.

Blessed be,
Cindy