The giant atom-smasher experiment

MrBrian
MrBrian Posts: 2,672
edited August 2008 in A Moving Train
By Sean Patrick Sullivan, The Canadian Press


VANCOUVER - Canadian scientists at the forefront of the world's largest science experiment say discoveries made by a giant atom-smasher now whirring deep under European soil could radically alter our understanding of the universe.

In experiments beginning next month, the $10-billion Large Hadron Collider will re-create what happened in the split second after the Big Bang, mind-bending science that may shatter existing theories of physics and prompt the discovery of new particles and unknown dimensions

"We're on the edge of a major breakthrough in understanding the universe," Lockyer said in an interview at TRIUMF's sprawling compound at the university.

This breakthrough may come from this massive experiment 100 metres under the French-Swiss border, where the particle accelerator essentially lets scientists smash parts of atoms together at blinding speed and study the resulting mess.

The world's largest scientific instrument will use unprecedented amounts of energy to shoot two clouds of protons, with trillions of the particles in each cloud, around a 27-kilometre long circular tube.


The clouds collide at almost the speed of light, blowing the protons to smithereens and - ideally - offering a treasure trove of discoveries.


"We'll know what's out there. We'll know what to do for the rest of our lives," said Isabel Trigger, lead scientist for TRIUMF's contribution to the project.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080823/national/god_particle_1

I love this part
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It's different than any particle we've seen so far. If it doesn't exist, all of our theories of physics start to break," said McPherson, also with ATLAS-Canada.
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments

  • Cosmo
    Cosmo Posts: 12,225
    I hope they don't create a Black Hole... that would suck.
    Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
    Hail, Hail!!!
  • i thought they already fired it up? i was sure our world would end, too, but its seems i was wrong.
  • bernmodi
    bernmodi Posts: 631
    The experiment is exciting. I just wish I had the intellectual capacity to fully understand what's going on there...
  • Collin
    Collin Posts: 4,931
    Sweet!
    THANK YOU, LOSTDAWG!


    naděje umírá poslední
  • hailhailkc
    hailhailkc Posts: 582
    Cosmo wrote:
    I hope they don't create a Black Hole... that would suck.

    Well done...well done...
    MOSSAD NATO Alphabet Stations (E10)
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  • MrBrian
    MrBrian Posts: 2,672
    Cosmo wrote:
    I hope they don't create a Black Hole... that would suck.

    LMAO! Yes it would suck
    (Article)

    A Hawaii man with a background in nuclear physics is asking a court to stop scientists before they destroy us all. Walter F. Wagner and his colleague Luis Sancho really have filed a federal lawsuit, which you can read on the link, in order to stop work on the Large Hadron Collider, on the Franco-Swiss border, a giant atom smasher set to start operating in May.

    The plaintiffs’ concerns are that the LHC could accidentally create strange new particles instantly transforming any matter they touched making a rapidly expanding black hole that would consume the entire Earth. That can’t be good. The lawsuit reads-

    http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/stop-the-scientists-lawsuit-huge-atom-smasher-could-destroy-worldy
  • MrBrian
    MrBrian Posts: 2,672
    bernmodi wrote:
    The experiment is exciting. I just wish I had the intellectual capacity to fully understand what's going on there...

    -How the Large Hadron Collider Works

    http://science.howstuffworks.com/large-hadron-collider.htm

    Enjoy!
  • MrBrian
    MrBrian Posts: 2,672
    It's going down this week. Get ready!

    http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080907/atom_smasher_080907/20080907?hub=World&s_name=

    Does Big foot really exist? will they ever find a cure for hair loss? what came first, the chicken or the egg? We will know soon enough.
  • pirlo21
    pirlo21 Posts: 534
    It's happening tomorrow I think!

    If they're re-creating the big bang, what if they creat another 'mini' universe?!!

    Creepy!
    Cymru Am Byth

    PJ albums, at the moment!! -
    1,Vs 2,Vitalogy 3,No Code 4,Yield 5,Ten 6,Backspacer, 7Pearl Jam 8,Binaural 9,Riot Act.
  • Pacomc79
    Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    this is one of the most interesting groundbreaking scientific happenings in years.

    http://fe7.news.re3.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080907/ap_on_re_eu/big_bang_machine

    apparently there is a youtube rap about this?
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • moho
    moho Posts: 541
    Why isn't Palin telling us the world's going to end this week? It would probably clock up some votes. ;)

    This is very exciting, they may find out what exactly Dark Matter is and therefore do something with it..... Like i dunno what because it all goes way way way over my head but it's still interesting! :D
    JUST PLAY THE F***ING NOTE!!!
  • it's between Obamas' ears....and it's sucking in gulible human beings at an astronomic rate!
    _____________________

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  • well i woke up this morning and i'm still here. thats good i think.
  • MrBrian
    MrBrian Posts: 2,672
    http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080910/world/big_bang_1

    GENEVA - Scientists at the world's largest particle collider have fired the first protons into a 27-kilometre-long tunnel in science's next great step to understand the makeup of the universe.


    Project leader Lyn Evans gave the go-ahead to send the protons into the accelerator below the Swiss-French border early Wednesday. The $3.8 billion Large Hadron Collider was under construction since 2003.


    Scientists hope it will provide the necessary power to smash the components of atoms so that they can see how they are made.


    The startup has been eagerly awaited by 9,000 physicists around the world who will conduct experiments at the Swiss facility.


    Some skeptics have said they fear the collisions of protons could eventually imperil Earth
    ----
  • MrBrian
    MrBrian Posts: 2,672
    "There are two emotions, the pleasure of completing a great task and the hope of great discoveries ahead of us," said CERN Director General Robert Aymar.


    The giant accelerator's first task is to send a particle beam in one direction around its 27-km (17-mile) circumference, and then one in the other direction to test if the path is clear.


    In the coming weeks beams will be sent in both directions simultaneously to create high-speed collisions.


    Scientists around the world are eagerly anticipating data on those minuscule crashes. One possibility is that they will cause the creation of matter -- proving correct the theory that there exists a "Higgs Boson" that gives matter its mass.


    Doomsday writers have also fanned fears that the experiment could create anti-matter, or black holes, spurring unprecedented public interest in particle physics ahead of the machine's start-up. CERN has insisted that such concerns are unfounded and that the Large Hadron Collider is safe.

    http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/080910/n_science_reuters/science_science_cern_dc_5
  • Nevermind
    Nevermind Posts: 1,006
    Im fuckingg dissapointed that we didnt all get sucked up in a black hole.
  • What time will they fire this puppy up? After all the lead up, I think I'll be disappointed if nothing cataclysmic happens. Minimally, I demand a cow be sucked into oblivion.

    I wonder if my UNICEF meeting this evening will be redundant... ;)
  • sourdough wrote:
    What time will they fire this puppy up? After all the lead up, I think I'll be disappointed if nothing cataclysmic happens. Minimally, I demand a cow be sucked into oblivion.

    I wonder if my UNICEF meeting this evening will be redundant... ;)
    they dont perform the real experiment until next month. today was just a test.

    test 1: spin a proton (or photon or whatever it is) counterclockwise
    test2: spin a proton (or photon or whatever it is) clockwise
    world destroying experiment: do both at the same time and smash them into each other.
  • JonnyPistachio
    JonnyPistachio Florida Posts: 10,219
    I woke up this morning and felt an intense pulling feeling and thought OH MY GOD THE BLACK HOLE EXPERIMENT IS SUCKING ME IN!

    Then I realized I just had to poop.
    Pick up my debut novel here on amazon: Jonny Bails Floatin (in paperback) (also available on Kindle for $2.99)
  • Cosmo
    Cosmo Posts: 12,225
    You know what would be really amazing?
    If it occurs and life is created as a result.
    Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
    Hail, Hail!!!