The detector is able to find the decay points of the and particles, and the momenta and energies of the particles produced by the decay of the unstable and particles. From this information, the kinds of particles produced when the and decay can be determined.

The detector has several 'layers', each of which is fine-tuned to detect certain types of particles. In this simulation, we will only view the tracks from the innermost parts - the vertex detector and the drift chamber. The magnetic field inside the detector is huge, at 1.5 tesla (compared with the earth's magnetic field at around 0.5 x 10-4 tesla).

The paths of charged particles are detected in the vertex chamber and the drift chamber. The energies and momenta of some of the small particles are detected in the calorimeter, and those of most other particles are detected in the hadron calorimeter. Finally, any muons produced are detected in the warm iron calorimeter. Thus, it is possible to tell the different types of particles apart.

During the event, the particles travel at very close to the speed of light, meaning that relativistic equations must be used to find their lifetimes before they decay.

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