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Published online 9 September 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.1094
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Physicists flock to Geneva
The start up of the world's biggest particle collider lures researchers from around the world.
Like birds returning to rich feeding grounds, researchers from all over the world are flocking to CERN, Europe's premier high-energy physics laboratory, nestled at the edge of the French Alps.
The cause of the mass migration is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the new US$4.
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Well, at least the post apocalyptic t-shirts are ready: http://fiendfolio.blogspot.com/2008/09/are-you-ready-for-impending-apocalypse.html
I can almost hear the songs of those estranged subatomic particles: ?"Some day, we'll be together...."?
If anything goes wrong, the physicists will be the first to go :) I read today that Hawking is betting that the experiment won't work. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24323756-12377,00.html
IF the scientists main debate to assure us that this experiment is safe by saying these collisions go on in nature with cosmic rays hitting the earth then have they considered some differences to the LHC experiment ?? Firstly ,,are the particals being sent round one way at nearly the speed of light , and the other way at the speed of light? that would make the impact at nearly twice the speed of light? That SPEED IMPACT wouldent happen in nature would it? secondly., these (group) particles in the LHC will be in the same lanes having a effect of a car pile up .That wouldent happen in nature either would it? thirdly,, (just a curious ),,are these haydron proton particles different atoms than cosmic rays atoms? wont different atoms be dangerous? i hear light partical have no atoms ..are cosmic rays light particals? if so there wouldent be atom colisions in nature. it all dosent sound reasuring if thats the main debate on the safty issue. i think it should be cancelled for a much distant time till we know exactly what the saftey is.
hope theres some valid points in my last comment and hope someone can answer some of the comments.Just to sum up my view and i think most peoples., of course smashing atomic particals is very risky despite what the scientists say., and never thought we would get to this point of spending billions of pounds on this dangerous project , money that could of been better spent to save our envoiriment and using the scientist knowlege to save the planet not to endanger it surley thats common sence. if this experiment is so safe why are there other scientist who know better than the public and goverments saying there is risks? It all a big nightmere i cant beleive goverments and law courts are allowing this experiment to happen. it all seems a big rush into what even the scientists for it says the unknown,as they admit the truth is nobody knows what will happen.,, on the bases of that sureley it should be cancelled till the far distant future when we know more.
There is a leaked video on You Tube from CERN (LHC Black hole simulation Large Hadron Collider CERN) there is more to this than meets the eye, the black hole is not the concern, it is the revelation that may shatter our perception of reality. The link is on http://godparticle.net which has insight into the revelation. Do you really think they would spend 6 billion dollars just to find a particle? The truth is related to energy, the ability to turn mass on and off, and the revelation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFYlbsTlCk0
Man's technology has exceeded his grasp. - 'The World is not Enough' Zealous Nobel Prize hungry Physicists are racing each other and stopping at nothing to try to find the supposed 'Higgs Boson'(aka God) Particle, among others, and are risking nothing less than the annihilation of the Earth and all Life in endless experiments hoping to prove a theory when urgent tangible problems face the planet. The European Organization for Nuclear Research(CERN) new Large Hadron Collider(LHC) is the world's most powerful atom smasher that will soon be firing subatomic particles at each other at nearly the speed of light to create Miniature Big Bangs producing Micro Black Holes, Strangelets and other potentially cataclysmic phenomena. Particle physicists have run out of ideas and are at a dead end forcing them to take reckless chances with more and more powerful and costly machines to create new and never-seen-before, unstable and unknown matter while Astrophysicists, on the other hand, are advancing science and knowledge on a daily basis making new discoveries in these same areas by observing the universe, not experimenting with it and with your life. The LHC is a dangerous gamble as CERN physicist Alvaro De Rújula in the BBC LHC documentary, 'The Six Billion Dollar Experiment', incredibly admits quote, "Will we find the Higgs particle at the LHC? That, of course, is the question. And the answer is, science is what we do when we don't know what we're doing." And CERN spokesmodel Brian Cox follows with this stunning quote, "the LHC is certainly, by far, the biggest jump into the unknown." The CERN-LHC website Mainpage itself states: "There are many theories as to what will result from these collisions,..." Again, this is because they truly don't know what's going to happen. They are experimenting with forces they don't understand to obtain results they can't comprehend. If you think like most people do that 'They must know what they're doing' you could not be more wrong. Some people think similarly about medical Dr.s but consider this by way of comparison and example from JAMA: "A recent Institute of Medicine report quoted rates estimating that medical errors kill between 44,000 and 98,000 people a year in US hospitals." The second part of the CERN quote reads "...but what's for sure is that a brave new world of physics will emerge from the new accelerator,..." A molecularly changed or Black Hole consumed Lifeless World? The end of the quote reads "...as knowledge in particle physics goes on to describe the workings of the Universe." These experiments to date have so far produced infinitely more questions than answers but there isn't a particle physicist alive who wouldn't gladly trade his life to glimpse the "God particle", and sacrifice the rest of us with him. Reason and common sense will tell you that the risks far outweigh any potential(as CERN physicists themselves say) benefits. This quote from National Geographic exactly sums this "science" up: "That's the essence of experimental particle physics: You smash stuff together and see what other stuff comes out." Find out more about that "stuff" below; http://www.SaneScience.org/ http://www.LHCFacts.org http://www.risk-evaluation-forum.org/anon1.htm http://www.lhcdefense.org/ http://www.lhcconcerns.com Popular Mechanics - "World's Biggest Science Project Aims to Unlock 'God Particle'" - http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/extreme_machines/4216588.html"
This forum is clear evidence that one's capacity for endless ranting is directly proportional to the extent of one's breath-taking ignorance. Or perhaps it's the other way around: ignorance bred by doing more talking than listening, more preaching than learning. Either way, the main result is rapid spreadth of misinformation. What a waste of energy.
Wish success for the scientists' latest experiments! As far as I know, this experiment is trying to investigate either "Was really there a Bing Bang?" or "There was a Bing Bang, but How it was?" But I expect good results from this experiment!
David, I hope your understanding of spelling is better than your knowledge of physics... Walter Dodson