Physics fashion and collider couture

Nine years ago, Symmetry shared a list of physics-themed Halloween costumes for the spooky holiday. You have, no doubt, judiciously limited yourself to using just one idea per year, but it’s possible you find yourself in need of more. We can’t leave you without an obscure physics reference for your local costume contest, so Symmetry is back with 10 more physics-themed costumes to make zombie Einstein proud.

1) Schrödinger’s cat

You can make this costume with materials you already have from Halloweens past. Grab your skeleton onesie, cat ears, and face paint, and let your friends guess whether you’re alive or dead. A classic, and maybe a little predictable, but a great option, nonetheless.

If you want to turn this into a couple’s costume, dress as one cat and one skeleton. When your friends ask what you are, tell them you’re the same thing.

2) Neutrino (1)

Neutrinos come in three types and oscillate from one type to the next. If you can’t decide what to be this Halloween, spend the night changing between three different costumes and call yourself a neutrino.

3) Dark energy and dark matter

Celebrating Halloween with a competitive friend? Dress as dark energy and dark matter. Dark energy drives the expansion of the universe, while the gravitational pull of dark matter tugs it back together.

4) High-Luminosity LHC

It’s time to break out your hula hoop and your headlamps, Christmas lights, flashlights, bike lights—anything bright or sparkly—and turn yourself into the future of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.

The high-luminosity upgrade to the LHC, slotted for completion in 2029, will produce particle collisions at a higher rate than ever before. Don’t forget to discover some rare phenomena before the night is out.

5) Gravity well

If it’s hard to resist the pull of your captivating personality, then you may have found your calling as a gravity well.

Gravity wells describe the area of space over which a large mass like a star or a moon exerts a gravitational influence. Imagine a depression in the fabric of spacetime that other objects fall into or orbit around.

Expand your costume by getting your friends to act as planets, moons and satellites.

6) Supersymmetry

Supersymmetry is a class of theories beyond the current Standard Model that predict “super-partners” to the existing elementary particles. These super-particles could help explain ongoing mysteries like dark matter and the surprisingly small mass of the Higgs boson.

Scientists appreciate the elegance of supersymmetry but have yet to find any evidence of supersymmetric particles. So, if you don’t feel like attending the Halloween festivities this year, go as supersymmetry and just stay at home.

7) Neutrino (2) 

Perhaps you’re feeling a bit more outgoing than supersymmetry, but a little less social than a gravity well. In that case, consider an alternative neutrino costume. Neutrinos travel at close to the speed of light, so wear whatever you want and zoom through the party without stopping to chat.

8) Superconductor 

Bring your best pun game this Halloween by going as a “Super Conductor.” Start with some pinstripe overalls, add a superhero cape, and carry around a whistle. You may not be allowed to drive a train, but if you get cold enough, you should be able to conduct electricity with zero resistance.

9) Superposition 

When particles are in a state of quantum superposition, it’s as if they exist in multiple states at the same time. While a human can’t exist in multiple states, your costume can look like it does. Now you’re in superposition!

10) Noble gas 

Noble gases are the notoriously non-reactive elements of the periodic table that make great fluorescent lamps. Channel your noble energy by covering yourself in glow sticks, wearing a crown, and not reacting to anything. Even that scary clown in the corner.