Uh oh...the nerds are at it again....

[spanishjohnny]

Uh oh.................. actually, it's fascinating. I have never really been a science type person, the general ideas fascinate me but when it gets down to the nitty gritty it hurts my brain. Anyway, hope they don't end up creating this black hole

 

[XxMiniLovexX]

I reckon.... hole in space time continuum coming soon!

 

[JojoMorrice]

I guarantee* we're save from the world ending, especially since the experiment was scheduled for 9:15 this morning!



*or your money back

 

[dumbh3ad]

That was just turning the machine on ,apparently the beam that will carry the protons is just doing laps of the circuit today. Isn't it when they start making them knock into each other that odd things may happen (or not).

 

[LineN]

Naa, Switzerland is already gone, the UN is covering it up to prevent a global panic.

 

[jonathan927111]

Actually you're probably right, I had a reminder in my phone from when I first heard about it:

10th September 2008 @ 9:15 : End of World

I do like the idea that the universe began, life appears until evolution can create a life form capable of recreating the big bang in a constant loop.

 

[Chrono]

Lol Coma And Switzerland better not disappear, I need to fly there to go skiing in January

 

[katyg]

I think this is fantastic.
This is what being human is all about. The sheer sense of exploration of it all.
Mashing fundamental particles together to see what happens.
It's our generations equivalent of climbing everest or going to the moon.
I'd rather we all died in an attempt to understand the universe than sit in ignorance afraid to turn the plug on.

 

[dancingzorba]

Where we're going, we won't need eyes to see.

 

[BloodMakesNoise]

It's definitely very exciting, as I said I don't really understand, but it's definitely exciting. It's Big Bang Day on Radio 4 ,some interesting things on there. I'm struggling at the moment to get my head round the idea of how fast the particles are actually travelling round the circuit. Was it 11 million times per second or something, round a 27km circuit!!!

 

[keybladeninja]

Theres no real chance of a black holes being created and even if by some incredible unforeseen randomness there was one created it would be so small and unstable that it wouldn't exist past the time it took to blink.

The other thing to remember about the LHC is even though it's being switched on today they don't expect to have enough data to draw any new conclusions for quite some time so I wouldn't be expecting an announcement of new physics particles anytime today.

 

[extreme_zn]

Yep, it's going to be up to a year until information and results become apparent.

 

[MonicaA]

Nicely put! Exactly how I feel about the whole thing.

Plus it's nice that all my 'geek' reading about the GUT, string theory and a lot of the more 'out there' stuff ( Smolin anyone? ) means I can bore the hell out of people in the office that have picked up a few keywords to impress people with.

 

[FannyG]

I prefer to look at the wider picture where science is concerned. I like the theories but not being of the scientific persuasion I really struggle with the complex parts. I did a course at Uni called The Universe as an Art, which looked at the major theories and concepts which were fascinating. I was always scared off science at school and kept being told I was rubbish at it ,so didn't do well at all

 

[star42430]

I was the opposite, I was very good at science at school.
It wasn't until I was doing a science degree at Uni that I realised it was all a load of nonsense and gave up on it. That and the Student Union bar were the two main reasons

 

[Xavia]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_particles

Lol, anti charm quark.

And a WIMP (weakly interacting massive particle)

 

[donnyak49]

With regards to the possibility of the LHC causing the end of the world, the media is being generally dismissive of the idea.
I've generally seen them describe concerned parties as "soothsayers" or "prophets of doom". Actually, what they often fail to state is that these concered parties include other scientists & eminent phycisists.

They have stated that any mini-black holes produced will not cause a problem because cosmic rays striking the atmosphere would produce similar mini-black holes and none of them have spelled destruction for us.
One problem with this is that no-one has ever detected mini black holes in our atmosphere caused by cosmic rays, so there is no reasonable basis for this claim other than pure assumption.

Despite the headlines, the more honest answer regarding the risk is - "Yes, it could happen, but chances are the sun will burn out before this collider can have an Earth-ending mishap."
That's fair enough, but this is somewhat different from what we are being lead to believe in the media with their confident (even cavalier) attitude to potential danger. The statement above is not saying there is NO danger, but rather chances are nothing will happen in our lifetime or for a very long time as the probability is rather low. Then again, if you consider the chances of intelligent life emerging in the universe is so astronomically improbable as to be worth considering a "never going to happen" event & yet here we are, then it tends to makes you think twice. Improbable events may be unlikely to happen, but that is altogether different from syaing they won't happen. You are unlikely to ever win the lottery in your lifetime, but someone still ends up winning it nonetheless.
All this being said, if anyone asks my opinion on the risk I will follow the lead of the CERN scientists and confident say that there is no danger & the world will not end. The reason, as I'm sure they have worked out, is very simple.
Either nothing will happen, in which case they can say "Told you so" to all doubters…or something will happen, it will be the end as we know it, and there will be no-one around to point the finger of blame at them anyway

 

[BarryF]

Who in particular are you thinking of? I've not come across any eminent physicists voicing such concerns. In fact looking through the science media centre which provides press releases of quotes from leading (relevant) scientists for science news stories I don't see anyone expressing such concerns...

http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/pages/press_releases/08-09-03_cern.htm

I also sincerely doubt that the scientistific consensus is based on 'pure assumption'.

EDIT: I also found this website ... http://hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com/

 

[LalilahalilAllah]

LOL!

Tiny black holes wandering free around Europe! Could be the next season of Dr. Who.

Though the theory intriques me I find it "above my pay grade"! Still fast moving particles and the Universe have always captured my attention.

 

[JeanetteG]

Professor Otto Rossler, Dr. Raj Baldev, Teresa E Tutt, Ph.D, Nuclear Engineering Texas A&M University, Dr. Paul J. Werbos, National Science Foundation, Nuclear Physicist Walter L. Wagner and Astrophysicist Dr. Rainer Plaga come to mind.


The science media is hardly an unbiased source.


That is exactly what theory is by definition, which is why experiements are carried out - in order to provide empirical data to back up theory/assumption.

As for posting websites, it could go on all day - http://www.lhcfacts.org/