has demonstrated that the everyday
phenomena we experience are governed by universal principles applying at
time and distance scales far beyond normal human experience. Elementary
particle physics is one avenue of scientific inquiry into these principles.
What rules govern energy, matter, space, and time at the most elementary
levels? How are phenomena at the smallest and largest scales of time and
distance connected?
To address these questions, particle physicists seek to isolate, create,
and identify elementary interactions of the most basic constituents of the
universe. One approach is to create a beam of elementary particles in an
accelerator and to study the behavior of those particles–for instance, when
they impinge upon a piece of material or when they collide with another beam
of particles. Other experiments exploit naturally occurring particles,
including those created in the sun or resulting from cosmic rays striking
the earth's atmosphere. Some experiments involve studying ordinary materials
in large quantities to discern rare phenomena or search for as-yet-unseen
phenomena. All of these experiments rely on sophisticated detectors that
employ a range of advanced technologies to measure and record particle
properties.
Particle physicists also use results from ground- and space-based
telescopes to study the elementary particles and the forces that govern
their interactions. This latter category of experiments highlights the
increasing importance of the intersection of particle physics, astronomy,
astrophysics, and cosmology.