Lt-DavidW Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Our planet is not at risk from the world's most powerful particle physics experiment, a report has concluded.The document addresses fears that the Large Hadron Collider is so energetic, it could have unforeseen consequences. Critics are worried that mini-black holes made at the soon-to-open facility on the French-Swiss border might threaten the Earth's very existence. But the report, issued the European Organization for Nuclear Research, says there is "no conceivable danger". The organization - known better by its French acronym, Cern - will operate the collider underground in a 27km-long tunnel near Geneva. This Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a powerful and complicated machine, which will smash together protons at super-fast speeds in a bid to unlock the secrets of the Universe. Six "detectors" - individual experiments - will count, trace and analyse the particles that emerge from the collisions. Most physicists believe the risk of a cataclysm lies in the realms of science fiction. But there have been fears about the possibility of a mini-black hole - produced in the collider - swelling so that it gobbles up the Earth. Critics have previously raised concerns that the production of weird hypothetical particles called strangelets in the LHC could trigger the mass conversion of nuclei in ordinary atoms into more strange matter - transforming the Earth into a hot, dead lump. New particles The lay language summary of the report, which has been written by Cern's top theorists, states: "Over the past billions of years, nature has already generated on Earth as many collisions as about a million LHC experiments - and the planet still exists." The report added: "There is no basis for any concerns about the consequences of new particles or forms of matter that could possibly be produced by the LHC." The new document is an update of the analysis carried out in 2003 into the safety of the collider by an independent team of scientists. The authors of the latest report, including theoretical physicist John Ellis, confirmed that black holes could be made by the collider. But they said: "If microscopic black holes were to be singly produced by colliding the quarks and gluons inside protons, they would also be able to decay into the same types of particles that produced them." The report added: "The expected lifetime [of a mini-black hole] would be very short." On the strangelet issue, the report says that these particles are even less likely to be produced at the LHC than in the lower-energy Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) in New York, which has been operating since 2000. A previous battle over particle accelerator safety was fought over the US machine. 'Fundamental question' The scientific consensus appears to be on the side of Cern's theorists. But in 2003, Dr Adrian Kent, a theoretical physicist at the University of Cambridge, wrote a paper in which he argued that scientists had not adequately calculated the risks of a "killer strangelet" catastrophe scenario. He also expressed concern that a fundamental question (how improbable does a cataclysm have to be to warrant proceeding with an experiment?) had never been seriously inspected. The LHC was due to switch on in 26 November 2007. The start-up has been postponed several times, however, and is currently scheduled for later this summer. The first delay was precipitated by an accident in March 2007 during stress testing of one of the LHC's "quadrupole" magnets. A statement carried on the Cern website from the US laboratory that provided the magnet stated that the equipment had experienced a "failure" when supporting structures "broke". It later emerged that the magnet had exploded in the tunnel, close to one of the LHC's most important detectors, prompting the the facility to be evacuated. In March, a complaint requesting an injunction against the LHC's switch-on was filed before the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii by seven plaintiffs. One of the plaintiffs had previously attempted to bring a similar injunction against the RHIC over safety concerns. Source: BBC News Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-T- Member Posted June 23, 2008 Member Share Posted June 23, 2008 When do the experiments actually start, I thought it was planned to be May of this year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacer Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 The predictable consequences are not what worries me about this experiment. It's the unexpected ones that are the real danger. No one knows what will really happend when this LHC goes online, which makes me wonder how any one could do a "study" on the effects of this experiment. And, I seem to remember that oh so infamous phrase, "Unforseen Consequences", from a story about how scientists messed around with particle acceleration and opened a door to another dimension full of aliens, ushering in the devastation of the entire human race...hmm...the possibilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOC Veteran Posted June 23, 2008 Veteran Share Posted June 23, 2008 I know this has been said many times previously, by myself also....but do these guys EVER watch Science Fiction? I know it's very unlikely, but, hey, you never know right? :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spenser.d Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 I don't think I would mind, actually. I think destroying the planet by having created mini-black holes in the name of science would actually be a pretty badass way to go out :p -Spenser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deletedforeverhaha Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Wasn't there a group of crazy people who tried to sue stating that we may go back in time if it "messes up"? I can't wait to see the results of this experiment. It would make a huge breakthrough in almost all fields of science. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azusa Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 it could have unforeseen consequences. I lol'd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antaris Veteran Posted June 23, 2008 Veteran Share Posted June 23, 2008 I remember an article in New Scientist about 2008 being the Year 0 for time travel, and it would all be thanks to the LHC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toadeater Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 The document addresses fears that the Large Hadron Collider is so energetic, it could have unforeseen consequences. Black Mesa? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqCgKJ5Ukds I wouldn't advise them to put it on Mars either, otherwise all hell will break loose. And/or they'll mess up some chromosomes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WastedJoker Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 I was just thinking about this the other day! Apparently black holes in outer space are caused by similar events the LHC will be trying to create but on a much largher scale. Awesome, imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNay Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Have they ever stopped a mini black hole? If not, then don't do it.... lol Sounds crazy to me.. hmm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacer Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 I can hear John Crichton screaming from here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEIST Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 But I'm a religious fundamentalist and still think the LHC is gonna open up a gate to hell! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TYT Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 If all else fails, we can just adjust the particle emitter to send out negatively charged tachyons, thus closing the rip in the time/space continuum and saving the earth... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psionicinversion Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 if it did rip a whole into another dimension lets hope its full of sex crazed super hot women with massive boobs and legs that go allllllll the way up hahahahah. I wouldnt mind making first contact, in the name of science of course :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayepecks Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 All I have to say is that if the naysayers are right, and the earth does cease to exist... I am gonna be so freggin' ****ed. :alien: lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punio4 Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Time to save up for some thick-framed glasses and a crowbar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNRambo Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 if it did rip a whole into another dimension lets hope its full of sex crazed super hot women with massive boobs and legs that go allllllll the way up hahahahah. I wouldnt mind making first contact, in the name of science of course :wink: :huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exotoxic Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 The predictable consequences are not what worries me about this experiment. It's the unexpected ones that are the real danger. No one knows what will really happend when this LHC goes online, which makes me wonder how any one could do a "study" on the effects of this experiment. exactly what i think.. scary stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOC Veteran Posted June 24, 2008 Veteran Share Posted June 24, 2008 If all else fails, we can just adjust the particle emitter to send out negatively charged tachyons, thus closing the rip in the time/space continuum and saving the earth... Been watching any Star Trek lately? :D First off, if they did create a mini-black hole it would take a longggggggg time for it to "suck" up the Earth. I mean, it wouldn't happen overnight, and probably take decades if not longer to actually cause any major worldwide events. Of course, if it settled in the core and sucked that dry, we'd no longer have a magnetic field and all sorts of other problems too. So eh. GG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deletedforeverhaha Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 These comments increase my IQ over 9000!!! /sarcasm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punio4 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Anyway, the sad thing is, that the public doesn't know about the LHC. Who does? Physicists, forum and *chan junkies. If there is even a *remote* possibility that it might go wrong, there should be world-wide riots and demonstrations. Instead, we get Big Brother and Euro 2008. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Decryptor Veteran Posted June 25, 2008 Veteran Share Posted June 25, 2008 Been watching any Star Trek lately? :DFirst off, if they did create a mini-black hole it would take a longggggggg time for it to "suck" up the Earth. I mean, it wouldn't happen overnight, and probably take decades if not longer to actually cause any major worldwide events. Of course, if it settled in the core and sucked that dry, we'd no longer have a magnetic field and all sorts of other problems too. So eh. GG. If it does create a micro black hole, and it doesn't evaporate (it should), then it'll sink to the center of the earth and it'd be thousands of years before it does anything bad. And that's probably too short a time span (it'll probably take longer). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonathanVP Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 oh pleeeeze!!! Their gonna turn on the switch and.....NUTHING weird is going to happen...just like all the other particle accelerators before it!!! Physicists and astronomers live such boring lives that they need to make up all sorts of **** just to make their lives exciting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giggles Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 They can say whatever they like because as soon as something happens we'll all be too dead to care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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