LHC Detector Built Out of LEGO

Sascha Mehlhase, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Copenhagen Niels Bohr Institute, showcases an impressive creation, made entirely out of LEGO. The structure is a 1:50 model of the ATLAS ((A Toroidal LHC ApparatuS) particle detector on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

The amazingly detailed model showcases even the pixel detectors, the heart of the experiment, in addition to its large scale structure. It took about 2000 euros ($2,600) to buy all the parts necessary to create the large model.

It measured 1x0.5x0.5 meters (3.28x1.6x1.6 feet), and took about 33 hours to build. An additional 48 hours went on constructing the 3D model on which the model was based. Mehlhase is now trying to develop a construction manual for the detector, which he says other could use to build the ATLAS.

Additional images of the model, for different angles, are available here.