CMS on canvas

Collage of the CMS detector at CERN created by Genevieve Lovegrove.

By Michael Banks

We’ve already had a LEGO model of the giant CMS detector at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) but now University of Leicester modern literature student Genevieve Lovegrove has attempted to go one better by creating a collage of the LHC detector made from everyday objects.

Using items such as a bra strap, batteries, pom poms, feathers, marbles and even painkillers and Christmas baubles, Lovegrove says she was inspired to create the collage after seeing a photo of the famous detector in a newspaper and was struck by its “beauty and impact” as well as the “groundbreaking” science done at the LHC.

Lovegrove told physicsworld.com that the project took three months to create at a cost of around £1000, yet the biggest strain was apparently on her daughter who “was somewhat fed up with having a two metre CMS in the lounge”.

Anyone keen to see Lovegrove’s collage up close can head to the university’s physics department, where it will now be put on permanent display in the foyer.

Lovegrove is already interested in doing another physics-inspired collage, so what bit of physics kit do you think would make a good project?