SCIENTISTS are trying to stop the most powerful experiment ever – saying the black holes it will create could destroy the world.
Dubbed by some the Doomsday test, it will be carried out next week in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), located 300ft underground near the French-Swiss border.
The machine is 17 miles long and cost £4.4billion to create.
When its switch is pulled on September 10, this atom-smasher will become a virtual time machine, revealing what happened when the universe came into existence 14 billion years ago.
New particles of matter are expected to be discovered, new dimensions found beyond the four known, as scientists re-create conditions in the first BILLIONTHS of a second after the Big Bang.
The atom smasher … the 17-mile-long machine that some fear will destroy our planet
Experts even predict that millions of tiny black holes will be produced — baby brothers of the monsters gobbling up dust and stars at the heart of the galaxies.
Secrets
That is why boffins are now trying to stop the project with a last-ditch challenge in the courts.
They fear the LHC experimenters are tinkering with the unknown and putting mankind — and our whole planet — at risk.
The group responsible for the experiment, the European Nuclear Research Centre (CERN), says that these mini black holes will vanish as quickly as they are created.
But the anti-CERN brigade accuse the scientists of playing God, warning that no one can guarantee that the black holes will not survive, rapidly growing in size to suck the Earth out of existence in an instant.
But CERN, which includes several UK scientists, say their work is vital to unlock the secrets of matter that forms everything known in the universe.
In the experiment, atomic particles will be fired in opposite directions along the 17-mile long underground ring — the length of the Circle Line on the London Underground.
They will travel so fast that they make 11,245 trips around the tunnel every SECOND.
From the collisions, boffins expect to discover a fundamental bit of the atom, called the Higgs boson, that is expected to exist but which has never been seen.
Professor Otto Rossler, from the Eberhard Karls University of Tubingen in Germany, is one of the scientists mounting the legal challenge at the European Court of Human Rights against 20 countries which are funding the project.
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He said: “It is quite plausible that these little black holes will survive and will grow and eat the planet from the inside out.”
A CERN spokesman said: “It will not be producing anything that does not already happen routinely in nature.”
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/article1630897.ece
jtankers Said:
on September 3, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Are you aware of the history of the safety controversy?
Former Nuclear Safety Officer Walter L. Wagner discovered flaws with CERN’s safety arguments. He believes that the Large Hadron Collider could create dangerous particles that might destroy Earth, so he filed a law suit to require proof of safety. [1]
In response, CERN scientists created a safety report in 2008 that argues no real chance of danger. [2]
After review, German Astrophysicist Dr. Rainer Plaga argues that CERN’s new report does not prove safety. Dr. Plaga proposes that CERN follow additional safety procedures to help reduce the danger, including proceeding slowly. [3]
On August 14th, CERN’s Dr. Jonathan Ellis stated that there is no real danger and they will not proceed slowly, collisions will begin in a few weeks. [4]
Another German scientist famous for contributions to Chaos theory and visiting professor of physics Dr. Otto E. Rössler theorizes that if micro black holes are created in the Large Hadron Collider, they could grow large enough to destroy Earth in just years or decades.[5]
Dr. Rössler requests that an emergency safety conference be held before collisions begin. He is due to meet Swiss President Pascal Couchepin to discuss safety concerns.
[1] http://www.lhcdefense.org/lhc_legal.php US Federal Lawsuit Filings – Walter L. Wagner
[2] http://public.web.cern.ch/public/en/lhc/Safety-en.html The safety of the LHC, Web Site – CERN
[3] http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/0808/0808.1415v1.pdf On the potential catastrophic risk from metastable quantum-black holes produced at particle colliders – Rainer Plaga Rebuttal
[4] http://www.lhcfacts.org/?p=72 CERN?s Dr. Ellis tells only half of the story – JTankers
[5] http://www.wissensnavigator.com/documents/spiritualottoeroessler.pdf A Rational and Moral and Spiritual Dilemma – Otto E. Rössler Safety Counter Arguments
cynicalmystic Said:
on September 3, 2008 at 9:40 pm
Soooo….
The scientists that are suing are clueless idiots, right?
Repeat after me.
SCIENCE IS NOT A RELIGION. OTHERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO DOUBT, CHALLENGE, OR SPECULATE.
Another Point of View Said:
on September 9, 2008 at 7:52 am
This is going to be a total anti-climax and I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out to be a total waste of money. It would be quiet funny (in an ironic sort of way) if the protesters were right. However they aren’t but in the extremel;y remote chance they are at least we won’t hear them bleating “i told you so”
GonzoHunter Said:
on September 11, 2008 at 2:04 pm
I’m stunned by the cavalier attitude of those in favor of this EXPERIMENT (esp. “Another Point of View”’s, who does admit the possibility that black holes will be created and grow, but mocks them. Yeah, you WON’T hear them, or anything else because you will have ceased to exist.
I don’t know about your feelings vis a vis Earth, but I LIKE it here! I’d like to live out my remaining days in this place. Who the hell do these bozos think they ARE (the CERN idiots)? This is the kind of experiment that should ONLY be undertaken with repeated tests assuring 100% safety, which is impossible! And WHY are they doing it? To find some idiotic “God particle”! Their hybris is disgusting and blinding. They should all be shot, or locked up forever!
For more RATIONAL arguments by Walter Wagner, just type in “CERN black hole” on YouTube for a 4-part interview. Bring a clean pair of shorts.
Christian Sciberras Said:
on April 17, 2009 at 6:32 am
GonzoHunter -
First, they ARE performing such tests. Last year’s incident happened because of such a test. I asure you that the exact precautions and safety measures are fully taken.
The “God particle” so named by the media, which is also known as Higgs Boson would be the discovery of the century. I am against it being called in such an idiotic manner (since sicence is NOT about religion). This particle would be the very core of physics, answering things like how the universe was created. I would suggest yo further reading on the subject from reliable sources rather then the usual general talk (which more then half of it is not even correct).
As to Wagner’s point of view, I won’t counter his views here, but know this; Mr Wagner was a former Nuclear Safety Officer which is far from being a real physicst (like the hundreds already employed at CERN).
As to the fake videos on Youtube, they aren’t even worth the bandwidth to download on your PC. Why? Because of the made up stuff in them. I wouldn’t even call it sci-fi but some doomsday dream.
On one of them, it was even claimed that we will all be disintegrated by then end of 2008. Oh, come to think of it, I survived up to 4 months of 2009!
As I said, double check your sources. I wouldn’t ever count on made-up stuff from Youtube ever since ANYONE could be making them including 10 year olds which think it’s hilarious frightening clueless grown ups.
Kind regards,
Chris.