Although the construction of this incredible scientific machine has been going on for over a decade, this morning was the first time i've heard of the experiment to take place tomorrow and it's potential ramifications. Tomorrow, the Large Hadron Collider will begin it's "quest for the Higgs boson, the search for supersymmetric particles and even the evidence for extra dimensions."
Although this research could be ground breaking, the experiment itself has drawn more attention due to some who believe that black holes that are created could threaten our very existence:
But if the feedback so far is any guide, the real headline-grabber is the claim that the world's most powerful particle-smasher could create microscopic black holes that some fear would gobble up the planet.
The black-hole scenario is even getting its day in court: Critics of the project have called for the suspension of work on the European collider until the scenario receives a more thorough safety review, filing separate legal challenges in U.S. federal court and the European Court of Human Rights.
The strange case of the planet-eating black hole serves as just one example showing how grand scientific projects can lead to a collision between science fiction and science fact. The hubbub also has led some to question why billions of dollars are being spent on a physics experiment so removed from everyday life.
The black holes that may (or may not) be generated by the Large Hadron Collider would have theoretical rather than practical applications.
If the collider's detectors turn up evidence of black holes, that would suggest that gravity is stronger on a subatomic scale than it is on the distance scales scientists have been able to measure so far. That, in turn, would support the weird idea that we live in a 10- or 11-dimensional universe, with some of the dimensions rolled up so tightly that they can't be perceived.
Some theorists say the idea would explain why gravity is so much weaker than the universe's other fundamental forces — for example, why a simple magnet can match the entire Earth's gravitational force pulling on a paper clip. These theorists suggest that much of the gravitational field is "leaking out" into the extra dimensions.
"It will be extremely exciting if the LHC did produce black holes," CERN theoretical physicist John Ellis said. "OK, so some people are going to say, 'Black holes? Those big things eating up stars?' No. These are microscopic, tiny little black holes. And they’re extremely unstable. They would disappear almost as soon as they were produced."
Not everyone is convinced that the black holes would disappear. "It doesn't have to be that way," said Walter Wagner, a former radiation safety officer with a law degree who is one of the plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit. Despite a series of reassuring scientific studies, Wagner and others insist that the black holes might not fizzle out, and they fear that the mini-singularities produced by the Large Hadron Collider will fall to the center of the earth, grow larger and swallow more and more of Earth's matter.
Another issue is that many feel that all these millions of dollars won't result in any tangible benefit for you and me. Though many scientists note that benefits could result in the form of advanced understanding in the telemcommunications, medicinal, and energy fields, CERN theoretical physicist John Ellis said "I think the primary justification for this sort of science that we do is fundamental human curiosity."
Although a lot of this stuff goes right over my head, i think it's all very fascinating. My personal opinion is - if the thing is already built and there is no hard data suggesting anything harmful could result, i'm all for running this machine and hearing the results. the only way to advance our understanding of the universe is to push our current knowledge and scientific capabilities to their limits.
The article on MSNBC can be found here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24556999Pictures of the Atom Smasher can be found here:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/08/the_large_hadron_collider.htmli highly reccommend checking out both. Results of tomorrow's experiment (assuming they stay on schedule and don't obliterate mankind) won't be known for about a month following.
