Build your own LEGO particle collider

By Michael Banks

You may remember last year when particle physicist Sascha Mehlhase of the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen unveiled a 560-piece LEGO model of CERN’s ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider.

Well, not to be outdone, LEGO fan Jason Allemann has now created a LEGO-inspired particle accelerator. Dubbed the LEGO Brick Collider (LBC), the design has been submitted to LEGO’s CUUSOO site, which lets fans share blueprints of their own models.

The 170-piece LBC features a circular track to accelerate a LEGO football by passing it in between two horizontal spinning wheels that “kick” the balls along. Indeed, the balls can reach speeds of just over 12.5 kilometres per hour before they can be made to collide with objects put into their path on the track.

“Although the propulsion system is different to that of a real particle accelerator, it is a great way to illustrate the concept,” reads the description of the LBC on CUUSOO.

Allemann is now looking for 10,000 supporters for his design before LEGO will conduct a review of it. If it were then to receive the green light, the model would go into the “development phase”, where LEGO designers refine the product and develop it for commercial release.

Indeed, that stage was recently met by The Big Bang Theory set, which has now been approved for release. Featuring mini-figures of all the main characters as well as the set of the front room of Leonard and Sheldon’s flat, the final design – as well as pricing and a release date – are still being worked out.