Smashing Atoms In CERN - Bang For The Buck
Catalyst presenter and former astrophysicist, Dr Graham Phillips, gets his

'dream job' when he travels to Switzerland to check out what many regard as
the most advanced scientific technology ever devised. It's the most powerful
atom smasher in the world and it's about to tackle some of the most colossal
questions about some of the smallest particles in our universe. Located at the
Swiss CERN laboratories, the Large Hadron Collider, or LHC, is an incredible
machine that promises some incredible discoveries. The big bang gave birth
to our universe. Now, 14 billion years later, scientists will recreate its earliest
moments, deep underground in a 27 kilometre long tunnel beneath the
Swiss-France border. 5 billion dollars has been spent on getting the
equipment up and running, and finally the accelerator is about to be switched
on to deliver some substantial bangs for the bucks. It might give scientists
their first glimpse of hitherto unrecorded particles, or find out what the
mysterious dark matter is which fills most of the universe. Or, scientists may
even discover miniature black holes.

Surveying Our Oceans - The Power Of One
For two decades, the CSIRO's research vessel, the Southern Surveyor, has
been helping Australian scientists learn more about the oceans surrounding
our island nation. She's Australia's only national marine research vessel and
Paul Willis staves off sea sickness to get a rare glimpse into life on board the
ship. Along the way he catches up with some of the country's leading deep-
ocean scientists. Climb aboard the Southern Surveyor, and see what they get
up to.

Beach Fingerprinting
One day it's a millpond, the next it's full of violent rips and dumpers - the
character of your local beach can change in an instant. But, as Ruben
Meerman discovers while surfing Queensland's Gold Coast, predicting a
beach's nature means studying its fingerprint.

Thursday, February 28 at 08:00pm
Catalyst will be repeated on ABC2 – Friday, February 29 at 5:35pm