LHSee an Incredibly Geeky-yet-fascinating App to Learn About Particle Collisions & Physics Experiments
by Paul Wilks
Nov 9, 2011 9:04 AM –
Install
LHSee is an incredibly geeky-yet-fascinating app that lets you view and learn about the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Geneva. For the completely uninitiated, the LHC is the world’s largest particle accelerator that engages various physics experiments in addition to allowing humans to go some way to understanding laws of nature. The app is a useful learning resource that not only lets you stream live experiments but also provides lots of information about how particles are monitored and tracked.
Price: Free
Tested on: HTC Desire HD
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Impressive 3D models of collisions, in addition to streaming live experiments!
- Hunt the Higgs Bosun test is a brilliant and original learning tool for understanding the experiments!
- Chock full of information and links!
Cons
- Would perhaps be nice if there were links to blogs which explain experiment results and findings.
Features:
In lay terms, the LHC is a huge tunnel, 17 miles long that lies 574 feet beneath the France/Switzerland border. Some of the world’s top physicists conduct incredibly geeky yet amazing experiments by firing particles at high speed and essentially smashing them together. It tells us a lot about how particles work and fundamentally how some of natures basic laws operate on a tiny level. This app provides a window to these experiments and gives a variety of hands-on data.
The app appears relatively simple initially, the UI is perhaps nothing to write home about, but there is an interesting list of features. There is first a link to ‘Explore the LHC’ which provides in-app video streams which explain how things work. There is also an explanation as to what ATLAS is and the opportunity to see it in action via a 3D model. ATLAS, essentially, is the detector which monitors collisions and other events as they occur in the collider.
There is also a ‘Hunt the Higgs Boson’ test which enables you to identify collisions based on the previous tutorials. It is very much a deductional scientific test and helps demonstrate the way collisions and events are determined and understood. The app then provides live streams of 2D and 3D experiments as they happen, so you can see for yourself what’s going on, now you have a better understanding.
All in all it’s a pretty exciting app if you are into science. Personally, much of it was initially over my head a little and you really have to apply and learn how things work to get the most out of the app. The app is well laid out, and once you figure out what’s going on and begin delving into the interactive 3D models, you don’t notice that the UI is a little simplistic in places. However, it doesn’t bother you too much as there are such graphically rich areas elsewhere, and the content of the app itself is incredibly immersive.
Watch on Mobile
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LHSee – 3D streaming (1)
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LHSee – 3D streaming (2)
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LHSee – 3D streaming (3)
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LHSee – 3D view ATLAS
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LHSee – 3D streaming
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LHSee – Stream Live
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LHSee – Menu
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LHSee – What is ATLAS
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LHSee – Hunt the Higgs Boson
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LHSee – Hunt quiz
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LHSee – 2D streaming
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LHSee – 2D Stream info
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LHSee – Explanations and information
Usefulness:
Anyone with an interest in the experiments that are taking place within the LHC will be fascinated and amazed by the content of this app. The explanations are carefully worded so as not to sound like jargon and, given a little time, you can really begin to understand how important the work is that they are doing. There is a rich variety of resources within the app, and lots to explore.
Ease of Use:
LHSee is nicely laid out and it’s easy to follow tutorials and understand what’s going on. Some of the areas are a little dense as you learn about the experiments, but if you work through the information it becomes clearer. Moving between screens, transitions and navigation is all pretty simple.
Frequently Used:
The experiments with LHC are ongoing so you can regularly check the app for new experiments, which then let you view the collisions in awesome 3D detail. Before this point you can either immerse yourself into the app and get a thorough knowledge of it, let it prompt you to read further into the topic, follow up the web links or just sit back and view the splendour of the 3D models. You can do this as much or as little as you like.
Interface:
The interface is occasionally quite minimal and unpolished, yet other areas- such as the 3D models are very impressive. Strangely it does this without it feeling weird to use, or like there are two apps in one, it just kind of works.
Tags:
Android App,
Android Apps,
AndroidTapp.com App Review,
CERN,
Large Hadron Collider,
LHC,
LHSee,
Science,
Science Apps
Categorised in: Education, Entertainment
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