Particle Fever
Sloan Foundation Film
Release Date
2013
Film Synopsis
As the Large Hadron Collider is about to be launched for the first time, physicists are on the cusp of the greatest scientific discovery of all time—or perhaps their greatest failure.
Particle Fever follows six brilliant scientists during the launch of the Large Hadron Collider, marking the start of the biggest and most expensive experiment in the history of the planet, pushing the edge of human innovation. As they seek to unravel the mysteries of the universe, 10,000 scientists from over 100 countries joined forces in pursuit of a single goal: to recreate conditions that existed just moments after the Big Bang and find the Higgs boson, potentially explaining the origin of all matter. But our heroes confront an even bigger challenge: have we reached our limit in understanding why we exist?
Possible Topics
- How the Large Hadron Collider works
- The Higgs boson: What it is and what its discovery means for our understanding of the universe
- After the Higgs boson: Supersymmetry and the search for dark matter
Past Programs
2014
Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe, NM
Belcourt Theatre, Nashville, TN
Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor, MI
Athena Cinema, Athens, OH
Robinson Film Center, Shreveport, LA
The Dairy Arts Center, Boulder, CO
Jacob Burns Film Center, Pleasantville, NY
California Film Institute, San Rafael, CA
Amherst Cinema, Amherst, MA
SIFF Cinema Uptown, Seattle, WA
Maine Film Center, Waterville, ME
2015
Indiana University Cinema, Bloomington, IN
Austin Film Society, Austin, TX
2016
Gateway Film Center, Columbus, OH
2022
Enzian Theater, Maitland, FL
2023
Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago, IL
2024
Buskirk-Chumley Theater, Bloomington, IN
Cornell Cinema, Ithaca, NY