Several key components for the Large Hadron Collider at CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research), situated in Geneva, were made by Indian scientists working in 10 Indian institutes.
These places of learning include Aligarh Muslim University, University of Jammu, Institute of Physics in Bhubaneshwar, Punjab University, Universities of Guwahati and Rajasthan and Kolkata-based Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, the Variable Energy Cyclotron, Bose instate and IIT Mumbai.
The two giant detectors, namely CNS and Atlas, which helped to detect the particle were built with Indian inputs.
One of the main components of the CERN hardware is the mind boggling 8,000 tonne magnet which is heavier than the Eiffel tower that has been made with Indian contributions.
Major inputs for the building of this magnet were provided by the Raja Raman Institute of Advance Technology, Indore, pointed out scientist Dr Subodh Mohanty.
The hydraulic stands that support the 27-long tunnel, which is located 70 metres beneath the ground where the Large Hadron Collider, commonly referred to as the Big Bang experiment, were also made in India as were the millions of electronic chips which were made in the semi-conductor complex in Chandigarh.
The temperature inside the tunnel is –271 Celsius. The neutrino travels 11,000 times per second inside this tunnel.
Several crucial parts of this CERN hardware and software have been built either by Indian collaboration or exclusively by Indian firms.
Scientist Rintu Nath with Vigyan Prasar pointed out how the data of very high magnitude being collected at CERN was subsequently analysed by thousands of scientists across the world using grid computing methodologies.
Dr R. Chidambaram, principal adviser to the Prime Minister, congratulated the Indian scientific community for their contribution.
Both the Department of Atomic Research and the Department of Science and Technology have also been closely associated with the experimental work being conducted in the world’s largest particle physics laboratory.