Physics fun: Part of the LHC tunnel features as a backdrop to rapping scientists in this screen grab of the video.
Credit: YouTube
PARIS: Particle physicists fall into the stereotype of geek scientists, but a rap hit on the video website YouTube has shed unexpected light on their fun side.
The slightly cringeworthy Large Hadron Rap (scroll down for the video) has notched up more than 836,000 hits in the countdown to next week's start-up of the world's greatest atom-smasher.
The difference between a proton and a crouton
Grooving to a down-with-the-kids beat, and using the multi-billion-dollar collider as a backdrop, rapping scientists in lab coats and hard hats make it easier for people who don't know the difference between a proton and a crouton.
The rap was thought up by Kate McAlpine, a graduate student of Michigan State University in the U.S., who is on assignment to CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research.
Next Wednesday, CERN, which is based in Geneva, will switch on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a massive underground laboratory that will smash protons together and analyse the sub-atomic debris that results.
The LHC project, housed in a 27-kilometre circular tunnel near Geneva, aims at resolving some of the greatest mysteries in physics. One of the biggest quests will be to find a theorised particle called the Higgs boson, which could explain nagging anomalies about mass (see, Hunt for the God particle, Cosmos Online).
The God particle
The Higgs has been dubbed 'the God particle', because it is believed to be everywhere, yet totally elusive.
McAlpine said that the rap had been received enthusiastically by her colleagues for explaining physics in an accurate, simple and fun way – although the reactions also included a due touch of caution. "I haven't had a complaint about the science, except that I imply that the Higgs Boson is going to be found too quickly," she said.
Watch the video here:
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The video has been a surprise hit on Youtube
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