Will the Large Hadron Collider Destroy the Earth?
Written by Fraser Cain
Question: Will the Large Hadron Collider Destroy the Earth?
Answer: No.
As you might have heard in the news recently, several people are suing to try and get the Large Hadron Collider project canceled. When it finally comes online, the LHC will be the largest, most powerful particle accelerator ever constructed.
If there's something wrong with it, the LHC might have the power to damage itself, but it can't do anything to the Earth, or the Universe in general.
There are two worries that people have: black holes and strange matter.
One of the goals of the Large Hadron Collider is to simulate microscopic black holes that might have been generated in the first few moments of the Big Bang. Some people are worried that these artificial black holes might get loose, and then consume the Earth from within, eventually moving on to destroy the Solar System.
The physicists are confident that any black holes they create will evaporate almost instantaneously into a shower of particles. In fact, the theories that predict that black holes can be created also predicts that black holes will evaporate. The two concepts go hand in hand.
The other worry is that the Large Hadron Collider will create a theorized material called strangelets. This "strange matter" would then be able to infect other matter, turning the entire planet into a blog of strange matter.
This strange matter is completely theoretical, and once again, the same theories that say it might be produced in the Large Hadron Collider also rule out any risks from it.
One of the most important considerations is the fact that the Moon is struck by high energy cosmic rays that dwarf the power of the Large Hadron Collider. They were likely blasted out of the environment around a supermassive black hole.
These have been raining down on the Moon for billions of years, and so far, it hasn't turned into a black hole or strange matter.
You can read more about the Large Hadron Collider lawsuit here. Or how it might create wormholes, a view into other dimensions, or unparticles.
Filed under: Physics, Questions
April 22nd, 2008 at 2:31 pm
This "strange matter" would then be able to infect other matter, turning the entire planet into a blog of strange matter.
Actually, we already have a planet full of blogs that contain strange matter.
April 22nd, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Scientia non habet inimicum nisp ignorantem
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Some people were worried about the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) doing the same kind of thing. They put out a excellent paper on this at http://www.bnl.gov/rhic/docs/rhicreport.pdf
with a web site summery at http://www.bnl.gov/rhic/disaster.htm
But then later, it seems the RHIC *did* make some black holes - quantum sized that evaporated in a septillionth of a second and got no more than a fraction of a femtometer. Really hard to say, the press releases are unclear and Horatiu Nastase's paper on the subject are beyond me. But I suspect the LHC will create black homes that may last TWO septillionths of a second and maybe even make it an entire femtometer before exploding in a shower of pions.
I don't understand stranglets at all to comment.
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:54 am
Hi Fraser
One of the silliest aspects of the "Black Hole Doom" is that the very theory which suggests the holes might be created also predicts Hawking radiation - can't have one without the other.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:46 am
It is amazing that the idiot fringe (Perpetual
Doomsdayers) actually get a forum for thier constant misguided and misleading positions.
We as a race have been held back for Centuries by this sort of nonsense (Taking the nearly impossible and escalating it to the end of the world).
I for one look forward the the experiment and the results that could be of great benifit to the world.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:17 pm
These fools never understand our methods !
Our results are important and not our methods.
Igor is very happy about this new machine and that's all that matters anyway.
There's always the possibility that it may create a wormhole or a really really strange strangelet.
April 23rd, 2008 at 4:31 pm
The people trying to stop the particle collider are pathetic . I'm an enviromental extremist —but that does NOT merit the title enviromental extremism .
Instead it is anti-scientific idiocy !
I pine with anticipation to see what secrets of matter the facility will reveal !
(And if it turns the planet into strange matter –how do we know whether or not that will be an improvement ? What properties does strange matter have . If say, television reporters bodies were to be transformed into strange matter , would they become disinclined to spread vapid , sordid, yuppie- era gossip ? If so that would certainly be improvement if they had their bodies transformed into strange matter provided it didn't make them physically uncomfortable or kill them .
April 24th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Yes, Mark, I agree. we already have plenty of "blogs" that are quite strange. I would far prefer a blob or glob of something new and strange for the science community to study. Science is usually quite careful in such studies, but not so the internet.
May 7th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Interesting new inventions are to be made off of these new discoveries. A fantastic event it will be.
May 12th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
So… Why is this piece of shit created, anyways? What good will come out of it? Will our lives improve because of this machine? Will we live longer? What the f**k is the purpose of this piece of junk?