OT: CERN Collider...cause for concern?

I'm posting this query because I know several people here have backgrounds that may help some of us better understand the potential with the CERN collider and others.

Is there a reasonable danger that this could become another out of control scientific experiment that we all have to live (or die) from the consequences?

It would appear that necessary reversals and things to mitigate any unanticipated results are missing or very limited at least. It's all well and good to say that they're confident nothing untoward will occur but...what if it does? I should think prudence would take precedence over blind faith. Comments?

Sandi Bowman

[Ankesh]

Thanks Sandi for talking about the CERN collider.

When I tried to read about the science behind CERN collider, I couldn't understand much of it. It was way beyond my level.

But this is what I understand:

* CERN collider will help in proving or disproving the grand unified theory. (Something that Einstein spent the later part of his life chasing - unsuccessfully.)

* Some one raised a concern that the collider could lead to black holes on Earth. Which would destroy life.

* But most scientists say that such collissions that the CERN collider plans to make have already been happening in nature since billions of years. Without any creation of black holes.

* Apparently, Earth is bombarded by ultra high cosmic rays every day. And these rays have more energy than the CERN collider.

* Nature hasn't killed us with more energy collission. So we won't kill ourselves with less energy collission.

That was my understanding. But as I said before - I didn't understand everything because the level of science is way beyond me. May be Dien or someone else can help better...

What I do get is - no one in popular media understands it either. But its a good story to scare people. Frankenstinist. So we will see a lot more of it in the news.

Had to get a Quick understanding...

Maybe others will too...

Hope this is what Sandi is referring to...

Giddings' study has been cited by CERN as evidence of the safety of the LHC .... Just read OT. It'll be posted there with warning.. Or is it drivel? ...
http://outdoorsbest.zeroforum.com/zerothread?id=776373

Phil

Sandi,

Thanks for wondering.

While the doomsdayers reckon it'll either result in a black hole in the Earth (in which case we'll all be sucked in in a nano second and won't know a thing about it) - or - the planet will be turned into a floating mass of gray goo (as opposed to say, brown goo or brown/green camo color goo)... I wonder what the purpose of Large Hadron Collider is.

So, they want to smash a couple of particles together. And?

It May or May Not tell them something about some Big Bang Theory. Yeah, and what of it?

Will it help me put out the trash? Will it wash my car? Do my laundry? Pay my taxes? Stop Alcoholism? Drug addiction?

Frankly, I couldn't care less about Where this universe comes from. Whether we arrived from a Big Bang, have come out from the bottom end of a funnel somewhere (where'd the funnel come from), have always been and just yo yo in and out at random cycles like the Sun's intensity warming the earth and other plants in the Solar system, or we are just some small particle on a blade of grass in some giant's backyard. I don't care. And knowing which, won't change anything.

Might be kind of Cool to know. But spending Billions to find out something which won't mean a lick of beans, seems pointless to me.

Either way, They (CERN) will do as they please. There is too much money tied up in it by too many with vested interests to stop it. Do as I do, switch off the news and go about your life. You'll quickly discover how unimportant the News is and how your life goes on regardless of the myriad of hobgoblins presented daily.

Will something happen?

Who knows, for sure.

But when Brittany ain't in the new and it doesn't look like Russia and Georgia will be WWIII after all, something else needs talking about. Might as well be the end of the world, right. HA!

Michael Ross

[Ankesh]

Originally Posted by MichaelRoss

I wonder what the purpose of Large Hadron Collider is.

So, they want to smash a couple of particles together. And?

It May or May Not tell them something about some Big Bang Theory. Yeah, and what of it?

Will it help me put out the trash? Will it wash my car? Do my laundry? Pay my taxes? Stop Alcoholism? Drug addiction?

Thanks Michael.

The purpose is simple: to give work to a gazillion scientists

Even I was put off with the $$ spent on the collider. But theoretically at least, the CERN collider could prove the grand unified theory.

It would teach us about other dimensions. One step closer to creating the time travel machine.

It would teach us - as the wikipedia article say - how particles get mass. One step closer to creating gold / oil etc out of thin air.

--

I always used to question about the space missions to Jupiter etc. Whats the use of them at all? Until a friend told me: if we figure out the atmosphere of Jupiter and how it works, figuring Earth's atmosphere is then peanuts. Jupiter has hurricanes that Earth will never ever see.

Figure out the hard problems, and we won't have any easy problems left.

At least theoretically.

***** WARNING! ******

IF YOU ARE A WORRYWORT,
READING THE FOLLOWING COULD BE
HARMFUL TO YOUR MENTAL WELL BEING

**************************

When they were developing the Atomic Bomb, they worried that setting off the first one might start a chain reaction that would just keep going, blowing up everything everywhere . . . but they set it off anyway.

Now they're worrying that they might create a Black Hole that will suck everything into it. It won't happen, but trust them to give it a good try.

The universe is rigged so you can't pull one plug and watch the whole thing go down the drain. Otherwise, it would have disappeared long ago. Besides, according to scientists, there are black holes out there already. How come everything hasn't been sucked into them yet? Huh?

The universe is too big for scientists, despite the infinite size of their egos, to be able to destroy the whole thing in one fell swoop.

However, they have done something that matches the size of their egos, in that it is infinitely stupid: They've armed a bunch of polititicans with enough nuclear weapons to wipe out life on the planet.

But not to worry . . . cockroaches, lawyers, the planet itself and the rest of the universe will surrive. It's just us mere humans who are at risk. : )

---- Hugh

[Ankesh]

DNO = Do Not Open

CERN shoulda waited until Dec 2012 to fire up. That way, it would have freaked out more people. HA!