The mad scientists at Geneva’s CERN will be running an experiment tomorrow in the Large Hadron Collider which begins an effort ever to shed some light on the fundamentals of the universe. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will fire particles around its 17-mile tunnel. It will then smash protons — one of the building blocks of matter — into each other at energies up to seven times greater than any achieved before. As I undertand it, scientists are hoping to reveal why most sub-atomic particles have mass (probably signalled by the appearance of something called the Higgs particle), reveal why nature prefers matter over anti-matter, and maybe even overturn the Standard Model, a collection of theories that embodies all of our current understanding of fundamental particles and forces. Cool. I wonder if this will have any philosophical consequences, I’m especially thinking of the correlationist/anti-correlationist distinction Meillassoux draws in After Finitude (see here). Hopefully, the LHC won’t create a black hole that will suck up the world as we know it. Anyway, if it works as planned there will be some rather exciting things to talk about. The Telegraph has a nice article about the experiment (see here). Here’s some science smarties commenting (also from the Telegraph):
Nima Arkani-Hamed, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, USA:
‘I’ve already bet a year’s salary they will find the Higgs particle. There’s also a pretty fair chance that they might observe some of the particles that make up the mysterious dark matter in the Universe. Such dark-matter particles may or may not have something to do with supersymmetry. My hunch is that there’s a better than evens chance that supersymmetry will show up at the LHC, which would be good as it gives a ‘natural’ explanation of why gravity is so weak compared with the other fundamental forces. It is also possible that the LHC will shock us by showing that our conventional notions of what constitutes a ‘natural explanation’ are incorrect.’
Garrett Lisi, Freelance physicist, and “surfer dude” who came up with a new theory of everything.
The most likely result from the LHC is detection of a single Higgs particle. This Higgs is required to break the unified symmetry of electroweak forces into the separate electromagnetic and weak forces we see. Many physicists also think it likely that evidence will be found for supersymmetry, strings, or new dimensions — but I disagree. If the LHC does see multiple new particles, my guess is these will be several different Higgs, compatible with the breaking of a unified symmetry of all forces existing at the smallest distances. Whatever the outcome, it will be very exciting to uncover nature’s beauty at this tiny scale.
Wasn’t there a guy who tried to sue them to stop the project cuz he thought they will create a black hole and we’ll all get sucked into it?
Yes! I linked to an article about that above. That’s my favorite concern about the experiment, definitely.
If the likes of Sarah Palin is what Americans really what for their leaders, we might as well perish in a black hole – I’m sure it’s quite painless…
Agreed. However, I’m quite certain that Sarah Palin doesn’t trust the science and thinks black holes are simply God passing gas…
i just feel that its an issue where rumours have flown. my daughter came home from school petrified. I said they would not do this if they thought there was going to be disaster. The chances of a problem is not high so there for why is it people are so frightened. they would not be allowed to create such an experiment with consequences of death to millions of people. I had the same thing when i was a child with scares the world was going to end adverts telling you to go under the stairs. (what in a gas cupboard) with nuclear devistation.
These scientists are brilliant people and know what they are doing. you will probably not even know anything has gone on.
DONT WORRY KIDS!
What if it already happened and we’re all now in some kind of parallel universe where a person can repeatedly lie about a certain bridge to a certain nowhere and still get people to vote for her…
what if we all die it isnt something they can all fix then is it messing with nature is pathetic they are all dicks!!
1. I think black holes would be more like God hiccuping. Sharp intake of breath, sucking all matter into it.
2. BLACK HOLES ARE NOT PAINLESS! Didn’t you read Stephen Hawking’s Brief History of Time? He describes in detail what happens and it sounds excruciating, like getting stretched out until you are shaped like a noodle and then your cells start breaking apart… or something. (I read it like ten years ago, but I think that’s what happens.)
Hawking is full of
shitpoohpooh – see here:Eventually past particles will be on the grammar tests of old fogeys trying to teach post-Shakespearian English to post-text-messaging teenagers.