Investigate balloon hovercraft and learn how engineers at CERN design and use air pad systems to move detector slices that are heavier than 500 elephants!

Technology at CERN is multidisciplinary, spans a huge range and is constantly pushing the boundaries of what we consider possible.  For example, engineers at CERN can move detector parts weighing over 1000 tonnes by using the power of air. These hover-craft-like airpads reduce friction and move detector parts efficiently.  

In this workshop, participants will investigate how balloon hovercrafts reduce friction and learn how this allows for heavy loads to be moved efficiently. Participants will gain experience on how friction affects motion and will design, build and test various configurations of their air pads to solve a series of challenges.