This episode is a conversation with CERN’s Niels Madsen about Antimatter. We first discuss theoretical aspects about the topic, and then focus on the ALPHA Experiment. Since Niels is an experimentalist and has helped building essential parts of the experiment, we discuss the experiment in some detail.

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In this episode we discuss neutrinos. In the first part we talk with CERN’s Gian Giudice about the theory of neutrinos; we also discuss what it would mean if they were actually faster than light. Part two is a conversation with Edda Gschwendtner about the CERN Neutrinos to Gran Sasso experiment and the OPERA detector.

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This is the first episode in a series of episodes on particle physics and related research at CERN. In this episode we are talking to John Ellis about the standard model of particle physics, which is the current “big picture” about how subatomic matter and fields work.

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In this Episode, we talk about quantum computing. Our guest is Martin Laforest from the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo, Canada. We start with some physics basics, and then cover topics ranging from how quantum computing works, which different models of quantum computing are explored, current and future uses of the approach as well as the current state of the art. This is one of the more propellerhead-oriented episodes, so make sure you listen carefully :-)

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This episode is a conversation with CERN’s Rolf Landua about the Large Hadron Collider. We start out by discussing the science and theory behind the LHC what the LHC aims to research, including the higgs boson, the standard model, super symmetry and extra dimensions. We then talked about how the LHC works (proton source, acceleration, superconducting magnets). We conclude the conversation by looking at the LHC experiments and discussing in some detail how the ATLAS detector works.

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This episode covers neutron science at the Institut Laue Langevin in Grenoble. Helmut Schober and Ulli Köster cover what neutron science is used for, some interesting scientific experiments conducted at ILL as well as the physical fundamentals and the workings of the reactor and the detectors. We conclude the epsiode with a discussion of the ILL as a “research service facility” that offers all-around research support to visiting scientists.

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This episode is an interesting discussion about the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France. I had a chance to talk to Claus Habfast, physicist and head of communications for ESRF. ESRF is an accelerator facility the creates high-energy x-rays that are used for experiments in various areas of science, from biology to physics to materials science and chemistry. In the episode, Claus talks about how ESRF works, highlights a couple of interesting recent experiments and puts ESRF into the context of other accelerator laboratories.

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