The largest, most expensive scientific experiment in history, the 'Large Hadron Collider', is to be turned on next wednesday.
Although it was designed to answer the fundamental questions of life, some people have claimed that it could end up destroying the entire cosmos.
A lawsuit has been lodged at the european court for human rights by a small group of maverick scientists.They claim there is a small - but not zero - chance that when the LHC is activated it will create either a mini black hole that would fall into the ground and swallow the Earth from within.
Or, even more bizarrely, trigger a catastrophic chain reaction in the very fabric of space and time itself, which would rip apart the entire universe like the skin of a bursting balloon.
The Hadron Collider, like other particle accelerators/colliders (same thing), is surrounded by metal panes with a very specific electrical current running through it. The reason the metal panes are there is to keep the heat contained. If there were no electrical current, the world would literally disintegrate from the heat that is equal to 1 million times hotter than the center of the sun (according to a science channel special... yeah I'm a nerd for watching the science channel so much).
Here's a pic of a tiny (compared to the LHD) particle collider/accelerator's electrical current... The Large Hadron Collider is wayyyyy bigger than this collider.
Here's a couple pics of the Hadron Collider, and its massive size.
Well, what do you think? Will the hadron collider be a success, or will it destroy our planet and/or the whole universe?
The collider is currently undergoing commissioning while being cooled down to its final operating temperature of approximately 1.9 K (−271.25 °C). Initial particle beam injections were successfully carried out on 8-11 August, 2008, the first attempt to circulate a beam through the entire LHC is scheduled for 10 September 2008, and the first high-energy collisions are planned to take place after the LHC is officially unveiled, on 21 October 2008.
nothing will happen, and if it does, well, you won't be around to say "I told you so"
I'm all for advancing science, but I think they are many WAY better ways to spend all that money, like for instance, curing diseases and feeding the poor, that kinda stuff is what we should be worried about, not some mysterious particle that really won't affect that many lives, and most likely won't save any (though it could kill a lot)
yeah, i agree that they should spend money on something else.
Also, I never said I agree with the part about earth being destroyed, but I never said I disagree either. I really don't know what will happen. At least if anything catastrophic does happen, it will be a quick and painless death. All of a sudden you would just be gone. You wouldn't see it coming, you wouldn't feel a thing.
Oh also I added some more info in the original post at the bottom.
bah, the people complaining are idiots. theres a small NON ZERO chance that as im typing this my hand will fall through the keyboard and table to the other side. but do i seem worried?
as for this research not being relevant, many people back in the 1800's prolly thought wasting time investigating the weird effects of what happens to non-conducting rods when you rub them, and investigating those forces was useless, but i guess it turned out to be very useful (im referring to electricity).
the moral of the story is even if something doesnt seem immediately useful it doesnt mean it shouldnt be investigated. Experiments conducted here will allow us to more fully understand our universe, which in turn can allow us to predict properties/effects we could never have imagined (thats the wholepoint of theoretical studies)
as for clean, endless energy, i think you horribly misread something. no scientist would ever say endless, and clean is a matter of definitions. I think ITER has a better shot at (nearly) endless and (pretty) clean energy
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vive le freeride!!
Toma, S.H. et al, Inorg. Chem., 2004, 43 (11), pp 3521–3527
as for clean, endless energy, i think you horribly misread something. no scientist would ever say endless, and clean is a matter of definitions. I think ITER has a better shot at (nearly) endless and (pretty) clean energy
you're right, i was accidentally looking at the wrong thing lol...
also, here's a couple more facts about the collider... It's cooled to -456.25 ºF. The particles are accelerated to almost the speed of light. 17 miles long.. Here's a pic to put it in perspective (there are people in it)
This thing is awesome. Especially if it opens up mini black holes, even if they last for a fraction of a thousandth of a second.
didnt steven hawking say that the result of the collapse of a mini blackhole would be something like a small atomic explosion? im kind of behind on science and i never found out if hawking radiation actually existed or if they ever proved it.
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did somebody say hills?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Ignorant
All I have to do is make eye contact with a girl, and her bra unsnaps and her pants fall to her ankles.
To put the operating temperature of the LHC into perspective, -273.15°C is the internationally agreed "absolute zero" temperature. −271.25 °C is what the LHC operates at. That's COLD.
Absolute Zero is the lowest possible temperature where nothing could be colder, and no heat energy remains in a substance. The reason -273.15°C is internationally agreed to be absolute zero is because absolute zero is impossible to reach, and -273.15°C is the lowest ever recorded temperature.
I'm all for advancing science, but I think they are many WAY better ways to spend all that money, like for instance, causing diseases and killing the poor, that kinda stuff is what we should be worried about,
Fixed it for ya.
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The sage, Longboard Buddha once said, "A tree spends 100% of its lifetime in a static environment and only after its reincarnation as a deck is it allowed to move at fast speeds...
when allowed, the wood will give thankless service if
allowed to flow."
We're all going to die in 2012 anyways, so what's the deal?
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End of the world? Pics included....
