Over
the last few years, the High Energy Particle Physics Group at UCL has provided
work experience to a dozen or so school students. Typically, these students
have been just pre-or post-GCSE, and have spent two weeks in the group.
Generally, the students come with an interest in Physics, and the approach
that the group adopts involves getting the students to consider the experimental
and engineering approaches needed to develop successful particle detection
instruments. The students need to use their GCSE level knowledge to do
studies involving optics, electronics, mechanical engineering and design.
We develop and enhance their knowledge, charge them with the task of building
and/or testing components, sub-assemblies or prototypes for equipment which
has direct relevance to the work of the group. The importance of good record
keeping is stressed. The students are also given a talk by a graduate student
or research assistant in order to give them a quick guided tour of the
current state of particle physics.
We feel this approach has considerable value, as (for admittedly small numbers) young people are given real "hands-on" experience of the development of actual instruments for particle physics experiments.
Shannon and Alice who spent two weeks here during 1997 have written something about their time with us:
Note: A jig based on Alice and Shannon's design has been manufactured
and will be used in the system tests of the Far-Forward Monitor, part of
the OPAL detector at CERN.
Our work was centred on two main international projects. One of these was the ATLAS project involving the design of a multi-use particle detector for experiments at CERN, which is an international particle accelerator in Switzerland. The other project was MINOS, an experiment to determine if neutrinos (very tiny particles) have mass. This is very important because from the results it may be possible to conclude the fate of the universe; it may end in a 'Big Crunch' or it may continue to expand forever."