CERN

11/09/2026

Can you guess what they are doing?
Hint: they might be working on a gem(s). 👀

Welcome to the CMS Experiment at CERN 💫

It has a broad physics programme ranging from studying the to searching for extra dimensions and particles that could make up .

The Gas Electron Multiplier (GEMs) detectors are a state-of-the-art particle detection technology used in the muon endcap system of the CMS experiment.

Here we see scientists removing components of the GEMs, such as power cables, readout fibers, and gas connections. This process is part of the preparation for their upcoming extraction from the experiment for refurbishment before returning to CMS, to record data from the .

10/09/2026

Lowering a giant into place 🔧

to the 1970s, when the chamber body of the Big European Bubble Chamber (BEBC), was being installed in its vacuum tank .

BEBC was a 3.7-metre particle detector used in research from 1973 until 1984.

Equipped with heat exchangers and two “fish-eyes” used during the first series of tests, the chamber body was carefully lowered through the top of the shielding surrounding the chamber.

: during its working life the BEBC took over 6 million photographs.

09/09/2026

Inside the detector 🔍

CERN’s features the open solenoid of the ALICE experiment , as scientists officially disconnected its Transition Radiation Detector (TRD).
The TRD is a specialized sub-detector designed primarily to identify electrons and provide fast triggers for high-momentum particles.

: CERN’s experiments are currently undergoing major maintenance and upgrade work while preparing for , the successor to the Large Hadron Collider.

During this phase, the ALICE experiment will also install two major detector upgrades: the Inner Tracking System 3 (ITS3) to improve particle tracking resolution by a factor of two, and the Forward Calorimeter (FoCal) to optimise photon detection and study small-x parton structure.

Read more about the road to : https://home.cern/science/long-shutdown-3/

08/09/2026

Science in School's September edition is out, with lots of amazing resources for the new school year! 🎉🤩

Discover how open science can create new teaching opportunities, how language can shape gender biases and how AI can reinforce them, and how technology developed for fusion research could help satellites manoeuvre more sustainably and efficiently in orbit.

And, of course, we wouldn’t leave out the hands-on activities: use atomic models to explore the advantages and limitations of scientific models, challenge common misconceptions about gas pressure with a simple syringe and some weights, and experiment with Artemia to investigate self-sustaining life-support systems in the context of Mars exploration.

And that is only a glimpse of what Issue 79 has to offer. Dive into the full issue here: https://scienceinschool.org/issue/issue-79/

🫶 A huge thank you to our contributors for making it possible to keep all our resources free:

Image credits: Holger T.K./Adobe Stock

07/09/2026

A decade of hunting dark matter 💫

The NA64 experiment has searched for dark matter since 2016 by looking for energy that goes missing when particles strike its detector.

Find out more: https://home.cern/na64-a-decade-of-hunting-dark-matter/

04/09/2026

Can you guess what they are doing?

Here we see the assembly of the Target External Dump (TED) absorbing core , in the Transfer Tunnel 20 (TT20) – a beam transfer tunnel connecting the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) accelerator to CERN’s North Area experiments.

As part of the consolidation of the North Area (NA-CONS project), the TED has been upgraded to increase operational reliability and to cope with higher beam intensities expected when the accelerators restart operations.

that the accelerator complex and experimental facilities at CERN are undergoing major maintenance and upgrade work?

Find out more about the ongoing upgrades: https://home.cern/science/long-shutdown-3/

03/09/2026

02/09/2026

Exceptional transport operations to make way for 💫

The first two massive components of the Large Hadron Collider ( ) have been removed from the accelerator tunnel following a complex handling operation.

Over the course of the third Long Shutdown (LS3), which started this summer, entire sections of the and its detectors will be dismantled in order to make room for the components of the future accelerator .

As a result, CERN will be the site of some impressive manoeuvres.

Find out more: https://home.cern/exceptional-transport-operations-to-make-way-for-hilumi-lhc/

02/09/2026

Inspiring the future explorers 💪⚛️

This features highlights of Future Explorers, CERN’s summer science festival which took place earlier this summer.

Participants had the chance to:
👩‍🔬 attend talks from astronauts, physicists, sailors, artists and pioneers who push the frontiers of exploration, & meet them
👐 participate in discovery workshops offering hands-on activities for all ages
🎸listen to music under the stars

: CERN is preparing for its next public events season, which is about to start at the end of this month, on 29 September.

Would you like to join us in the future? Keep an eye out for the future events here: https://voisins.cern/fr/events 😉