2012 is the Year of CERN: Highlights, Discoveries and Breakthroughs in Science

Aside from discovering a new particle that possibly could be the Higgs, CERN has had other notable discoveries that are briefly enumerated below.

For science, the year 2012 definitely goes to to the European Organization for Nuclear Research or simply, CERN. 2012 marked its 58th anniversary and more importantly, it is the year that CERN have discovered a new particle they believe to be the Higgs particle.

CERN was originally named Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (European Council for Nuclear Research) in July 1953. Before it slightly changed its name but still retained its familiar abbreviation.

Aside from the Higgs boson, CERN has been a solid leader in science research contributing to major studies such as the construction of the Large Hadron Collider used in the search for the Higgs-Boson, the creation of the first anti-matter (anti-hydrogen in 1995) and even contributing its technology to solar power panels. These are but a few of the fruits of CERN's research.

Even the World Wide Web was invented in CERN's laboratories by Tim Berners-Lee and a computer created by Steve Jobs. CERN is not only about serious science, they also host an annual film festival showcasing films that deal with science related subjects, the CinéGlobe International Film Festival at CERN.

There even was a zombie movie that was filmed at the CERN complex by PhD students at CERN. The movie, Decay, is not endorsed nor is it authorized by CERN but they did allow the students to film there. (Check out the related links below to watch the whole movie).

Light Pulses From Quark Gluon Plasma To Accurately Measure Time in Septillionths of a Second

Scientists have proposed using the light pulse emitted by a quark gluon plasma, a newly discovered state of matter, as a way of measuring time at precise levels of yoctoseconds which is a septillionth of a second (1x10^-24).

A quark gluon plasma (QGP) is a new state of matter that results from the collision of two nuclei. It is made up of two of matters building blocks, the quark and the gluon.

The image illustrates two lead atoms colliding to form a quark gluon plasma which in turn emits a short light pulse.

Quarks and Gluons

Quarks are one of the tiniest building blocks of matter. The proton and neutron inside an atom are made up of these quarks. A particle made up of quarks is called a hadron. Particles made up of quarks are called hadrons.