~There are several courses available in Birmingham concerned with our knowledge of the microscopic world through our understanding of particle physics, its laws and theories. However, it is rarely a simple matter to relate these theories to experimental work in the real world. In this module, we investigate how we know what we know, and how we might go about extending our knowledge further. This module gives an introduction to aspects of experimentation in particle physics as currently used in the field. How do you design a detector to look at the products of the collisions of accelerated particles? How do the individual detector components work and how is the essential detector information from the interesting events sifted from amongst the huge data volumes produced? What measurements and observations would you make with the data obtained? How do you relate these observables to the theoretical ideas that you are trying to test? How can statistical analysis be used to determine the significance of your result and how would you assess whether systematic effects are obscuring the real physics? Together with the more theoretical courses available, this module provides a good background for a Year 4 Project or a PhD in particle physics. |