Bologna, 23rd October 2015
Not everyone may know that Italian scientists, in particular those from the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) gave a determining contribution to the LHC particle accelerator at CERN (*) in Geneva and to the discovery of Higgs boson.
From today and until 23rd November, it can be discovered at the Bologna High Speed station thanks to the ‘Meet LHC. 60 years of Italy at CERN’ presentation, organised by the INFN section of Bologna, in collaboration with Grandi Stazioni and Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, both companies of the FS Italiane Group.
During ‘Meet LHC. 60 years of Italy at CERN’, the INFN offers visitors the chance to admire the complexity of the experimental apparatuses and to study, through a photographic route, the history of this famous laboratory, in which people of every nationality work, proving that science is an instrument of peace.
The photographic route stresses the important role that Italy played in CERN’s successes, thanks to INFN.
The installation was inaugurated today with the scientific cocktail “Always faster”, a comparison of the speeds that can be reached by man in the infinitely small on the one side, and in transport on the other.
Antonio Zoccoli from the executive council of INFN, and Eugenio Fedeli, Production Manager Bologna of Italian Railway Network also took part in the meeting, which was mediated by the famous television presenter, journalist and actor from Bologna, Giorgio Comaschi.
“The choice of a place such as the large underground station of Bologna for ‘Meet LHC’ is particularly important for the INFN executive committee.” commented Antonio Zoccoli.
“On the one hand, the high speed trains that pass remind us greatly of the LHC particle accelerator, where the protons move almost at the speed of light, the fastest ever reached so far, before colliding. On the other hand, the station has always been identified as the starting point of long journeys, so I like placing it next to our research laboratories, from where our journeys towards the limits of knowledge begin.” ended Zoccoli.
Placing INFN research alongside the High Speed railway is a reason for the Italian Railway Network to be extremely proud.” stressed Eugenio Fedeli, the Bologna Production Territorial Manager of RFI.
“The trains will never reach the speed of the particles, but today the Italian Railways use, supervision and control systems to manage railway traffic that runs along more than 16,700 km of national network and on-board the fleet of trains. These systems have the same technological level as those used in avionics, aerospace and nuclear centres.
They are systems that allow the trains to reach commercial speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour. The Italian Railway Network, in fact, used the Ertms/Etcs, which the European Union has indicated as being the common interoperable language for all the railways in the Community.
Even the commitment to make the Italian stations true new “city squares” is great.” ended Fedeli. “With ‘Meet LHC. 60 years of Italy at CERN’, we want to offer the thousands of travellers who use the new Bologna HS station a moment of detail and scientific knowledge”.
(*) Started at Geneva in 1954, CERN is today the most important research centre in the world for particle physics, where thousands of people of all nationalities work, around 1700 of which are Italian. Its story marks the history of modern and contemporary physics. The Italians’ contribution was of fundamental importance.
Among the founders, in 1954, was Edoardo Amaldi, one of the “boys of via Panisperna”. It was the Italian Carlo Rubbia who won the Nobel Prize for the discovery of bosons W and Z in 1984.
Another Italian, Fabiola Gianotti (today designated manager of CERN), announced the most recent discovery of the Higgs boson. There are many Italians who had, or who even today have, important roles and positions of responsibility at CERN.
These results were possible also thanks to the commitment of INFN, which has always carried out cutting edge research and enjoyed great prestige at an international level.