Effectiveness is not just something you measure
Richard Storey
The extraordinary image above effectively proves the existence of a 'cascade b baryon', a sub-atomic thingummy composed of three types of quark – called somewhat prosaically 'down', 'strange' and 'bottom'. The image records the fallout that happens when a proton accelerated to nearly the speed of light hits the nucleus of an atom. Various sub-atomic particles are released; from their trails scientists are able to derive fundamental information such as their mass, charge and direction of spin.
In order to prove the existence of the elusive baryon, two things were needed....