Large Hadron Collider what do you think?

[Howling Star]

Hello the question is simple. Do you think it's a doomsday machine ? Is it a important thing of science ? Are you scared cause you live near it ? Do you think it could destroy half of europe ? Well there are many opinions on this matter I thought I post it here. ^^ For those who do not know what it is check google.

PS I think I forgot to put in a Other option. >.< But if you think a other thing. Let me know here.

I myself do not know what will happen hahaha. But I'm gonna think about what to vote.

[Sagat]

It ain't gonna kill us. Very doubtful that any mini black holes created will magically leap up and turn into a bigger one due to Hawking radiation. Factor that in with the argument that there are theoretically many mini black holes that pop in and out of existence in the atmosphere and yet we're still around.

Just a bunch of hype. Calling it a doomsday machine is stupidly alarmist.

[███]

Just out of curiousity, how exactly would it destroy half of Europe?

[Howling Star]

I do not know people say it. There even is a lawsuit against it from a dude from Hawai. Do not know what's his name is let me search.

Read it somewhere there stand Debating doomsday.
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archi...27/823924.aspx

It says these three things. And there maybei s more if you read.

* Runaway black holes: Some physicists say the LHC could create microscopic black holes that would hang around for just a tiny fraction of a second and then decay. Sancho and Wagner worry that millions of black holes might somehow persist and coalesce into a compact gravitational mass that would draw in other matter and grow bigger. That's pure science fiction, said Michio Kaku, a theoretical physicist at the City College of New York. "These black holes don't live very long, and they have microscopic energy, and so they are harmless," he told me.

* Strangelets: Smashing protons together at high enough energies could create new combinations of quarks, the particles that protons are made of. Sancho and Wagner worry that a nasty combination known as a stable, negatively charged strangelet could theoretically turn everything it touches into strangelets as well. Kaku compared this to the ancient myth of the Midas touch. "We see no evidence of this bizarre theory," he said. "Once in a while, we trot it out to scare the pants off people. But it's not serious."

* Magnetic monopoles: One theory suggests that high-energy particle collisions might give rise to massive particles that have only one magnetic pole - only north, or only south, but not the north-south magnetism that dominates nature. Sancho and Wagner worry that such particles could be created in the LHC and start a runaway reaction that converts atoms into other forms of matter. But physicists have seen no evidence of such reactions, which should have occurred already as the result of more energetic cosmic-ray collisions in Earth's upper atmosphere.

[International 4-8818]

Well people thought it was firing last night but no. I to thought it was last night. Last night they fill a quarter of the ring with the proton injections. It is on October 29th i believe that they fire the LHC.

I myself am not worried because it is not going to do anything dramatic besides have 4 proton streams collide with each other. I am actually excited to see if they find the Higg Boson aka(god particle). Basically if they find the particle it will bring forth a new study of elementary particles.

If they find this particle it will help scientist further understand why Elementary particles never form mass out of matter. Also it will further explain the weight relations with the photon and Z & W bosons. Also it will just define the relative number of the vacuum of space which for now is set at 0.

i love talking about the LHC. I sqwuell like a little school girl when it is brought up. Basically it if the biggest step in science. The LHC is a giant ring that has a diameter of 17 MILES!

Basically there is nothing to worry about when it come to the LHC. There is no way it is going to destroy half of Europe. There is a chance of a black hole being made but like M Bison has said due to Hawking radiation it will just disappear in a fraction of a second. Besides the size of it would be so insignificant.

[Sagat]

Oh for the love of ..

*turns on the spotlight that shines a giant "E" into the air*

Eris come here we need your take on this

[Howling Star]

Maybe the E is not big enough hahahaha. Aah well I guess Eris knows a lot a bout this. It might be good to know some more. I'm just putting stuff here. That I heard. If someone could make it clear what it will do etc. It would be really nice.

[Eris]

Oh for the love of ..

*turns on the spotlight that shines a giant "E" into the air*

Eris come here we need your take on this

TrainHeartnet's post has already pretty much debunked the doomsday theories. All there's left for me to say is that these sorts of theories are born out of ignorance and fear of the unknown.

As already mentioned, more energetic collisions occur on frequently in the upper atmosphere. We're constantly being sprinkled with miniature black holes, strangelets and magnetic monopoles. And time dilation due to special relativity would allow it to occasionally reach the surface of the earth without evaporating.

What's being done at the LHC is merely a controlled experiment where we can measure what actually happens.

[sataned]

What's being done at the LHC is merely a controlled experiment where we can measure what actually happens.

yup ... up until those filthy damned scientists miss something and BAM! its one huge black hole instead of minture ones and then its death !!

this wont happen fersure but dang it would be exciting if it did! woot!

[Sagat]

Speaking of which, this entire concept of strangelets both fascinates and confuses the hell out of me.

[Howling Star]

I don't know anything about these strangelets. All I ever found nice in science. Is Hourglass Nebula.

[Eris]

Speaking of which, this entire concept of strangelets both fascinates and confuses the hell out of me.

Strangelets are a supposed particles with up-down-strange quarks (instead of the up-up-down or up-down-down quarks like protons and neutrons). The hype is that some people think they can "convert" regular matter to strange matter on contact. These would occur in the atmosphere as well, but supposedly never reach the surface.

The problems with the strangelet theory are many. First of all, they'll by all likelihood not be stable, breaking down a lot faster than converting regular matter to strangelets. Therefore, it would be no worse than anti-matter. A small "fizz", at most. Also, these would occur on the moon as well, since it is also bombarded with cosmic rays. If these were indeed stable, the entire moon would consist of strange matter. It does not.

[Howling Star]

Hmm this is maybe a interesting topic. I was afraid of LHC but I guess the % chace it goes wrong might be really low. So I guess it's all safe right =) ? And once again I'm just looking at what I heard. And it scared me.

[Sagat]

So, what then is the supporting (even if not very waterproof) theory for thinking strangelets could convert normal matter into strange matter?

[Diocletian]

Okay,I'm still not full on the subject,but if it's a particle genreator and produces the black holes all it will take in is the stuff around it.Not enough for half of Europe.Maybe a small portion of a room.Mrs.Mathews always told me that there are black holes all around us.They just aren't strong enough.Whether that's true or not I don't know.I waited for the bell to ring.

[Eris]

So, what then is the supporting (even if not very waterproof) theory for thinking strangelets could convert normal matter into strange matter?

It's a matter of how such particles would interact with regular particles. It's essentially an effect of how they're constructed. But the relevant part is their supposed stability. We already have measured the lambda particle Λ0, which is a strangelet that is not stable at all (and thus perfectly safe). Some people theorize that heavier strange particles would be stable, but there really isn't any evidence in that direction.

[Haoie]

The LHC is the dumbest meme to come out of the vast web for a while.

[Manhattan_Project_2000]

The LHC is the dumbest meme to come out of the vast web for a while.

It has produced a decent Rule 34 though. It made me laugh at the very least, and few rule 34's can claim that.

If you can't imagine how the LHC can be rule 34'ed:

 

Notice how the word "Hadron" sounds like two words often used together in a sexual setting? Now ponder the possibilities.