above:LHC quadrapole magnet
So, is there danger from the Large Hadron Collider?
Yes, there might be... we just don't really know for sure. The problem is we are not sure what, when , how or to what extent there might be danger. As with the atomic bomb, we just will not know what has been unleashed until it is tried.
The first trial for the super collider will be in about 2 months and the purpose is to figure out the missing links in the Unified Field Theory (Long time readers know that Lemon completed this research long ago. see Time Mag cover in side column)
We are looking for the Higgs boson which will let us know if we are on the right track or not. It will tell us why things have mass etc. We might discover why gravity is weak in comparison to the other properties like electromagnetism and strong and weak nuclear reactions.
But along with finding things out there will be by products such as micro black holes, magnetic monopoles, strangelets and super symetric particles.
Now a strangelet is the beginning of what you might know as a quark star or strange star. Now the danger is that if a strangelet amasses a bit of size, and comes into contact with something anti-strangelet. like earth for instance, the earth will also become strange matter.
All of this is hypothetical as we have not observed them yet or even if they really exist.
The possibility of Hawking radiation being emitted is another concern.
So is a super collider dangerous? We don't really know but scientists are quoted as saying that it is "beyond reasonable doubt, heavy-ion experiments at RHIC will not endanger our planet". Whew, that's a relief huh?
Now that is the RHIC collider at Brookhaven in Long Island which is not the size of the LHC in Europe and on that count we just do not yet know.
The Dooms Day scenario is that particles will come into contact with earth and annihilate it or do it irrepairable harm.
Well , we shall see boys and girls. As always, hang onto your hats and keep your arms and legs well inside the vehicle, we are in for an interesting ride.
well if we ever do get a singularity inside the planet, it'll take a long while fore it has us for lunch
ReplyDeleteMaybe, maybe not.
ReplyDeleteI bet it sends off everyone's pacemaker and it will become known as the beep heard round the world!
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, if we're lucky, the little black hole will suck the little black muzlim into it and he will vanish forever. PS: We must include his wife. We don't want him to be lonely now do we? LOL