CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, is showcasing its science at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Apart from a range of books looking at the science of CERN and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the Laboratory will unveil a new interactive LHC time tunnel display. CERN will also announce collaboration with games developer Rovio to develop new educational resources for children linked to the latter's Angry Birds game.
The LHC time tunnel, built especially for the book fair, takes people into the world of sub-atomic particles by using motion sensors and projectors to visualise the effect of the Higgs field. Visitors can visualise protons moving inside the LHC and can kick virtual particles as hard as they can to see how they collide.
The CERN stand is based around a partial reconstruction of the CERN Control Centre, complete with live LHC status updates on the screens. Popular science books about CERN are on display, as well as the first computer used by Tim Berners-Lee to develop the original World Wide Web software, and the antimatter trap used in Hollywood blockbuster Angels & Demons.
On Friday October 12 at 1 pm, Angry Birds will fly through the CERN stand as CERN Director General Rolf Heuer and Rovio's Chief Marketing Officer, Peter Vesterbacka, announce the start of the collaboration to develop educational resources. On Saturday October 13, from 2.30 to 4 pm, Prof. Heuer will be signing the book LHC: the Large Hadron Collider, published by Austrian publisher Edition Lammerhuber in cooperation with CERN and UNESCO Publishing. This book features the photography of Peter Ginter and text from Austrian writer and playwright Franzobel with an introduction from Prof. Heuer.
Each day at 10:00, 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00 CERN physicists will present "Insights into the world's largest particle accelerator", giving audiences the latest updates about research into the smallest of nature's building blocks. These events will include live connections with the control rooms of CERN's LHC and the experiments ATLAS and CMS. Questions from the public will be answered in German and English. The CERN stand is B 1422 in Hall 4.2, the Hall for Expert Information, Science, Technology, and Education.
