zosima
Muse
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2008
- Messages
- 536
Collisions are essentially instantaneous in both cases, not completely instant, but close enough. As to frequency...maybe, but even if the LHC was more frequent. Cosmic rays have had a 4.5 billion year head start.Regardless wouldn't the LHC produce these energy-levels which not as high, a lot longer though than a cosmic-ray burst?
Yes, Insofar as we're talking about mass, p = mv(momentum = mass * velocity).Momentum is the determining factor in the energy of a collision. A high energy collision could be slower more massive particles or faster less massive particles. So if high energy collisions have happened what the mass was is not too consequential.Also are energy-levels the only issue? (or does the type of collisions involved, matter as well -- if it sounds silly I'm sorry)
A large source of the increased collision energy in the LHC is that now it is colliding lead rather that gold, that way they can get more energy without increasing the velocity of the beam.(I think they actually did increase the velocity, thats why they upgraded the magnets, but I think maximum collider velocity is a function of ring diameter and confining magnet strength, if this is wrong someone, please correct me.)
I guess someone might try to argue that collisions with cosmic rays are more ionized hydrogen, helium, and electrons colliding with light molecules(N2,O2,CO2) and LHC will be lead v. lead collisions, but at the energy that the collisions occur, in both cases, they aren't really atom v. atom collisions, but they are neutron,proton,electron v neutron proton electron, or even quark, lepton v. quark, lepton. Whether there is some electromagnetic interference from the rest of the surrounding atom is really inconsequential.