Atom Smasher

[Libertine]

Nation & World | Critics' fears of atom-smasher dismissed | Seattle Times Newspaper

Critics' fears of atom smasher dismissed

The most powerful atom-smasher ever built could make some bizarre discoveries, such as invisible matter or extra dimensions in space, after it is switched on in August.

When the collider, or LHC, is finally at full power, two beams of protons will race around the huge ring 11,000 times a second in opposite directions.

When the collider, or LHC, is finally at full power, two beams of protons will race around the huge ring 11,000 times a second in opposite directions.

MEYRIN, Switzerland — The most powerful atom-smasher ever built could make some bizarre discoveries, such as invisible matter or extra dimensions in space, after it is switched on in August.

But some critics fear the Large Hadron Collider could exceed physicists' wildest conjectures: Will it spawn a black hole that could swallow Earth? Or spit out particles that could turn the planet into a hot, dead clump?

Ridiculous, say scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known by its French initials CERN — some of whom have been working for a generation on the $5.8 billion collider, or LHC.

"Obviously, the world will not end when the LHC switches on," said project leader Lyn Evans.

The collider basically consists of a ring of supercooled magnets 17 miles in circumference attached to huge barrel-shaped detectors. The ring, which straddles the French and Swiss border, is buried 330 feet underground.

The machine, which has been called the largest scientific experiment in history, isn't expected to begin test runs until August, and ramping up to full power could take months. But once it is working, it is expected to produce some startling findings.

Scientists plan to hunt for signs of the invisible "dark matter" and "dark energy" that make up more than 96 percent of the universe, and hope to glimpse the elusive Higgs boson, a so-far-undiscovered particle thought to give matter its mass.

The collider could find evidence of extra dimensions, a boon for superstring theory, which holds that quarks, the particles that make up atoms, are infinitesimal vibrating strings.

The theory could resolve many of physics' unanswered questions, but requires about 10 dimensions — far more than the three spatial dimensions our senses experience.

The safety of the collider, which will generate energies seven times higher than its most powerful rival, at Fermilab near Chicago, has been debated for years. The physicist Martin Rees has estimated the chance of an accelerator producing a global catastrophe at one in 50 million — long odds, to be sure, but about the same as winning some lotteries.

By contrast, a CERN team this month issued a report concluding that there is "no conceivable danger" of a cataclysmic event.

Critics of the Large Hadron Collider filed a lawsuit in a Hawaiian court in March seeking to block its startup, alleging that there was "a significant risk that ... operation of the collider may have unintended consequences which could ultimately result in the destruction of our planet."

One of the plaintiffs, Walter Wagner, a physicist and lawyer, said Wednesday CERN's safety report, released June 20, "has several major flaws," and his views on the risks of using the particle accelerator had not changed.

On Tuesday, U.S. Justice Department lawyers representing the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation filed a motion to dismiss the case.

The two agencies have contributed $531 million to building the collider, and the science foundation has agreed to pay $87 million of its annual operating costs. Hundreds of U.S. scientists will participate in the research.

[Big Red 11]

I've got 40 bucks on that it kills God.

[Boba.Fatt]

Will it spawn a black hole that could swallow Earth?

Just what we need............another Al Sharpton.

NOW can I move to Canada?

[dark_mullet]

I'm saying it's going to give a scientist super powers, then "super heroes" are going to start popping up around the country.

Or AN INTER-DIMENSIONAL PORTAL WILL OPEN.

[sublime80220]

I figured I would update this for you lib.

Twists in the doomsday debate - Cosmic Log - msnbc.com

Supposedly there having a hearing for this very soon.. Well it was nice knowing all of you.

[strictlystyles]

Aw ****! Its gonna be just like "The Mist"


I saw this a while ago and event hough it could destroy the world, im curious. However whatever they find will be totally kept under wraps and never revealed to the public.

[Big Red 11]

Originally Posted by strictlystyles

However whatever they find will be totally kept under wraps and never revealed to the public.

This is the scientific community, not the USSR. If they find anything worthwhile, it will be published as soon as enough data can be gathered.

[sublime80220]

Originally Posted by Big Red 11

This is the scientific community, not the USSR. If they find anything worthwhile, it will be published as soon as enough data can be gathered.

I think a lot of writers will be curious when the world doesn't end. Also if they wanted it under wraps they wouldn't have told us about it in the first place.

I'm curious to.. but I would rather not risk ending life. At least we know that if we are loosing a war really badly we would just be like oh yea? We are going to make a black hole how about them apples China.

[strictlystyles]

Originally Posted by Big Red 11

This is the scientific community, not the USSR. If they find anything worthwhile, it will be published as soon as enough data can be gathered.

You can say that if you want, but There are a ton of **** that they tell you, and also a ton of **** that they wont tell you. If its that substantial, trust me, you wont hear about it. My point will be proved when they atom smasher is activated, nothing happens, and we get a report on how they have made another small step for mankind. If anything really happened, we would get the runaround guaranteed.

[Big Red 11]

Originally Posted by strictlystyles

You can say that if you want, but There are a ton of **** that they tell you, and also a ton of **** that they wont tell you. If its that substantial, trust me, you wont hear about it. My point will be proved when they atom smasher is activated, nothing happens, and we get a report on how they have made another small step for mankind. If anything really happened, we would get the runaround guaranteed.

'

What could the reason possibly be for not telling us? Unless they discover aliens living in our anuses or a new kind of bomb, they will publish their results. There's no way a team of scientists will allow years of planning and calculation as well as millions of dollars go to waste.