If you’ve been reading this blog, you already know my keen interest in the Universe, Dark Matter, Quantum Physics, and of course, the Higgs Boson. You may also know my doppelganger, adventurous space traveler Max Von Sama who left for Kepler-186f on board the Sama Airship last April after NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope discovered the first Earth-size planet orbiting a star in the “habitable zone”. You can follow her adventure on Twitter @MaxVonSama and visit her website.
You got it, between the space traveler character I created, my art inspired by space (the Sama come from another dimension, remember?) and my interest in the Universe and astrophysics, I’m always excited about learning something new.
A few days ago I watched Particle Fever, a fantastic documentary tracking the first round of experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Geneva, Switzerland. Needless to say I enjoyed every minute documenting the successes and setbacks of the experiments lead by renown scientists (Savas Dimopoulos, Fabiola Gianotti, David Kaplan…) working at CERN. As an artist, I have to say the LHC is inspiring, I’m sure Max Von Sama would love to see it!
Here’s the synopsis:
Imagine being able to watch as Edison turned on the first light bulb, or as Franklin received his first jolt of electricity…
For the first time, a film gives audiences a front row seat to a significant and inspiring scientific breakthrough as it happens. Particle Fever follows six brilliant scientists during the launch of the Large Hadron Collider, marking the start-up of the biggest and most expensive experiment in the history of the planet, pushing the edge of human innovation.
As they seek to unravel the mysteries of the universe, 10,000 scientists from over 100 countries joined forces in pursuit of a single goal: to recreate conditions that existed just moments after the Big Bang and find the Higgs boson, potentially explaining the origin of all matter. But our heroes confront an even bigger challenge: have we reached our limit in understanding why we exist?
Directed by Mark Levinson, a physicist turned filmmaker, from the inspiration and initiative of producer David Kaplan and masterfully edited by Walter Murch (Apocalypse Now, The English Patient, The Godfather trilogy), Particle Fever is a celebration of discovery, revealing the very human stories behind this epic machine.
Now the trailer. Even if you’re not into particles, please find some time to watch this awesome documentary. You won’t regret it and learn a lot. Trust me.
