24/02/2015

Adam Walton discusses particle physics and the achievements of the Large Hadron Collider, as it is prepared to be fired up again for more experiments in the next few weeks.

We hear from Lyn Evans, who led the project to build the LHC, the world's largest particle accelerator. He outlines why the collider has been idle for two years, and the exciting prospect of it coming back online with more power, and the potential for new discoveries in the coming years.

Particle physicist Maurizio Piai from Swansea University explains the "standard model", and how the discovery of the Higgs particle by the LHC opens up a new chapter for research, potentially taking physics into unknown territory with insight into mysterious "dark matter".

We also hear about the first party of teachers from Wales taking part in the CERN teachers programme. Kerry Richards, a physics teacher at Cyfarthfa High School in Merthyr Tydfil, tells us about the exciting prospect of going to visit CERN. We hear from Mark Langley, organiser of the UK teacher programme, and Darren Price who is one of the scientists taking part.