Duration
30 to 45 minutes
Works as one guided activity or three short stations.
Educator mode
A classroom path through the live models.
Use this page as a guided classroom route through the site. Every step points to a real interactive page, a specific thing to change, and a question students can answer from the model.
Sources
Official references
Every page links to the CERN or LIGO material behind its claims.
Demos
Real controls
Every demo runs live in the browser; no slides or screenshots needed.
Lesson sequence
Follow the beam
Ask students to put the chain in order: Linac 4 → PS Booster → PS → SPS → LHC.
Students can explain why the LHC is not the first machine in the chain.
Sort detector missions
Filter the 9 detector records by mission and compare one general-purpose detector with one forward detector.
Students can explain why different experiments sit around the same collider.
Reveal a chirp
Switch between Binary black holes, Binary neutron stars, Test signal and adjust noise and sensitivity.
Students can explain why a real signal can be present but hard to see.
Check understanding
3 short checks cover beam order, detector choice, and signal tuning.
Students can use the interactive models to justify their answers.
Discussion prompts
- What does each model simplify, and why is that acceptable for learning?
- Which claims would you cite from the site, and which would you verify in the official sources?
- How does changing a control change the interpretation nearby?
Assessment
A strong answer names a machine or detector, states the observed model behavior, and cites the page-specific source or model-limit note. The goal is not memorization. The goal is to connect hardware, signal, and evidence.