Scientists: Nothing to fear from atom-smasher

[grayman]

I found this article about the Large Hadron Collider, and the fears that some critics have about its use.

ome critics fear the Large Hadron Collider could exceed physicists' wildest conjectures: Will it spawn a black hole that could swallow Earth? Or spit out particles that could turn the planet into a hot dead clump?

I won't pretend to fully understand physics. I do find science research facinating, though.

The safety of the collider, which will generate energies seven times higher than its most powerful rival, at Fermilab near Chicago, has been debated for years. The physicist Martin Rees has estimated the chance of an accelerator producing a global catastrophe at one in 50 million — long odds, to be sure, but about the same as winning some lotteries.

So a similar -albeit less powerful - collider is already in use. Plus, according to the article, the Earth has been bombarded by cosmic rays, "triggering collisions similar to those planned for the collider, since the solar system formed 4.5 billion years ago."

Critics of the LHC filed a lawsuit in a Hawaiian court in March seeking to block its startup, alleging that there was "a significant risk that ... operation of the Collider may have unintended consequences which could ultimately result in the destruction of our planet."

What do you think: Have the critics been watch to much sci-fi? Is this a case of the ignorant trying to hold back intellectual progress?

 

[Doctor Evil]

What do you think: Have the critics been watch to much sci-fi? Is this a case of the ignorant trying to hold back intellectual progress?

Yes to both questions.

 

[geni]

It's a number of factors. The CERN could create blackholes thing hangs around mostly because it sounds cool. It isn't a realistic worry but people like to bring it up because it is more interesting than trying to explain the standard model and why what CERN is doing is important. The risk is in all probability between zero and very very minimal.

 

[Tubbythin]

Yes to both questions.

Seconded.

 

[geni]

Yes to both questions.

Nyet not Si-fi. The who large extra dimension thing does allow for black holes. It's just that the large extra dimension hypothsis almost certianly isn't true.

 

[PingOfPong]

So a similar -albeit less powerful - collider is already in use. Plus, according to the article, the Earth has been bombarded by cosmic rays, "triggering collisions similar to those planned for the collider, since the solar system formed 4.5 billion years ago."

I just wanted to add that the LHC's power is said to be around 10^16 eV per particle. Cosmic rays in excess of 10^20 eV have been measured. If anything were going to destroy the Earth by blackhole, strangelet, or whatever, it would be the fault of cosmic rays.

 

[X]

So, it's not going to destroy the world?

Well, that just made science a whole lot more boring.