Project
acceleratAR website
Welcome to acceleratAR - the augmented reality particle accelerator.
What is it about?
acceleratAR is an augmented reality app that brings the science of particle accelerators to the home or classroom. It uses a series of paper cubes and a mobile app to create a virtual particle accelerator that helps students to learn about particle physics and the Large Hadron Collider.
When a user views the cubes through the camera of a smartphone or tablet using the acceleratAR app, each cube turns into a different element of a particle accelerator; a particle source, a radiofrequency cavity to accelerate the particles and different types of magnets to bend and focus the particles into a circular beam.
As the user puts these elements together, the app offers a visualisation of different accelerator components, and how they affect a charged particle beam, just like in a real accelerator.
acceleratAR provides a tactile and visual way to understand how a particle accelerator works and allows users to see how magnetic and electric fields can be used to speed up and control particle beams.
Why is it important?
Accelerators have been used to study particle physics for decades but still remain a complex topic that most people avoid.
Today, accelerators are being used extensively outside of high-energy physics, with applications ranging from cancer treatment to the development of new materials.
acceleratAR hopes to simplify the area of particle accelerator science and make it more approachable and easier to comprehend for public audiences.
