This week’s Weekly Photo challenge is called Layers, and I can not resist posting some pictures of the biggest layers I have ever seen!
One of the end caps of the ATLAS detector in CERN
To put this image in perspective, here are some others of the detector which may help illustrate its size
A ‘Fish Eye View of the Detector & endcap
A man beside the detector standing on the huge yellow lift helps gauge the size
A view of the detector from 100m above through an access tunnel
Some layers in detail
Endcap
Endcap
Finally an illustration of the entire detector, the endcaps are just a small part of the whole, all designed to detect interactions between protons, particles that are just a tiny part of an atom!
Some other photos of my visit to CERN can be found here
Day One 
Very ingenious take on this prompt. Interesting.
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Thank you!
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What is an atlas detector? and what is it used for in laymen’s language? Very unusual picture of the innards of something big! ajoyfultraveler.wordpress.com
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Oooh help! We need professor Brian Cox for this! Will have a go at a sensible answer later 🙂
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I will be waiting!! Because it is a curious design and great picture!
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Thanks 🙂 I’m out using my mobile today so it’s not ideal for a longer reply!
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A reply in layman’s terms is proving difficult for me!
ATLAS stands for ‘A Toroidal LHC Apparatus’ (which I realise doesn’t help much!) It’s one of 7 particle detectors that were built to detect interactions between subatomic (the bits that go to make up atoms) particles that happen when they are sped around at almost the speed of light, a 27km particle accelerator (The Large hadron Collider – LHC) , which is 100m underground on the border between France and Switzerland at CERN.
The scientists were looking for evidence of one particle in particular, the Higgs Boson, which had been theorised in 1964, but no trace of it was found until the experiments started at the LHC in 2008. Scientists are confident that they found evidence of the Higgs Boson in the ATLAS detector and another one of the detectors, the CMS.
The ATLAS detector is 45m long, 25m in diameter & weighs over 7000 tons.
Does this help?
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Yes Barbara it does. I now have a better understanding of what it is .I also googled it after you shared your info.
My brother Walter E Currah jr was a quantum mechanic. is is listed under the world wide dissident scientists. I googled him just now and found several of his papers online. one is the alternative theory of the solar interior and the other is called the harper photon approach to electron mass. Too much information. I think I will go get a cup of coffee and enjoy all the layers.
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Lol, Glad to be of some help. Usually I am particularly useless at explaining physics. Maths I am good at explaining, but although I understand the physics I am also dyslexic and therefore don’t remember the words when I am trying to explain it!
Numbers and formulae are far easier for me to remember, however I don’t think you would have appreciated a list of formulae as an answer!!
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No! Have you ever felt a woosh go over your head and feel your eyes becoming hard as you go into a blank stare? That is me when it comes to Mathmatics and Physics!
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That’s me and grammar… my eyes just glaze over. And learning languages makes me feel slightly ill! But travel & attempting to speak the local language is fun! 🙂
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Well, consider it a challenge! I feel the same way as you all the time! At least we are attempting it! We may say it backwards or use our own dialect by at least we are trying and make people smile!
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Lol, usually they laugh at me, but they respect the attempt 🙂
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Are you going to the Collider exhibition in London at the moment?
Dates 13 November 2013 – 6 May 2014 Tat the Science Museum in South Kensington,
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Hoping to, probably in the new year after our trip to forn parts 🙂
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