Highlights in Geneva

Continent or ocean
Country
Region

The importance of CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Geneva was brought to the attention of viewers in an entertaining way by the argument between Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter in the series "The Big Bang Theory". "Real" physicists from all over the world have long been using the possibilities and results of the Large Hadron Collider and successes such as the detection of a particle at the Large Hadron Collider in 2012 that could be the Higgs boson have made CERN generally known under the term "God particle". This research result was so significant, for example, that François Englert and Peter Higgs were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2013 for the theoretical development of the Higgs mechanism.

Another physical peculiarity can also be admired in Geneva. At the point where the two rivers Rhone and Arve confluence, a special spectacle can be seen. Since the glacial water of the Arve with dissolved rock particles, the glacial milk, is colder and denser than the water of the Rhone, these two rivers do not mix immediately but continue to flow almost parallel in the common riverbed. When it passes Lake Geneva, the Rhone reaches its higher temperature.

Another impressive feature of Lake Geneva is the high fountain, which can be seen from far away. In the right weather conditions, its veils of water contrast beautifully with the clouds that cover the mountains of Geneva.

Picture 1: The fountain in Lake Geneva
Picture 2: The CERN in Geneva
Picture 3: Milestones in Physics
Picture 4: At the confluence of the Rhone and Arve
Picture 5: At the confluence of the Rhone and Arve
Picture 6: Rhone and Arve