SciBar is science in a bar - an invited speaker gives a talk on a scientific topic while people enjoy a drink or meal, with a Q&A afterwards. Bollington SciBar takes place at the Cock and Pheasant in Bollington.

The topic in October is antimatter research at the Large Hadron Collider.

Beneath the Franco-Swiss border, at CERN, lies the Large Hadron Collider a unique facility for scientific discovery. By recreating conditions that last existed moments after the Big Bang, it allows us to probe some of the deepest questions we can ask. Among the experiments at the particle collider is the Large Hadron Collider beauty experiment, LHCb, dedicated to exploring the subtle asymmetries between matter and antimatter that hold the key to our very existence. Its first chapter transformed our understanding, delivering hundreds of scientific papers, the discovery of more than seventy new particles, and new forms of matter–antimatter difference. Now in its second era, with the LHCb Upgrade I, the experiment is recording the particle collisions with unprecedented precision, capturing vastly more data and selecting the rarest, most revealing events.

About the speaker: Professor Chris Parkes is a former leader of the Large Hadron Collider beauty experiment and is head of the Physics and Astronomy department at the University of Manchester. His activities for the public includes work on a permanent exhibition at CERN, a UK touring exhibition on matter and antimatter, and talks at New Scientist Live and Blue Dot festival. The LHCb Collaboration was co-awarded the Breakthrough Prize in fundamental physics in 2025. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2026.

No charge, all welcome. Cock and Pheasant, talk begins 6.30pm. Arrive early to be sure of a seat.