Christopher Moore is an Assistant Professor of Physics at Coastal Carolina University. He lives in Myrtle Beach, SC with his wife and two children.The most powerful atom-smasher ever built could make some bizarre discoveries, such as invisible matter or extra dimensions in space, after it is switched on in August.
But some 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?
All I can say is I sort-of know what’s going through the minds of the principle investigators working on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. We have a small inertial electrostatic confinement fusion reactor in my lab, and I do get a little tired continually assuaging the fears of others. I also get about 1-2 emails a week from people who have developed a “new paradigm” in physics or believe their 5 second video of the collapse of the Twin Towers is proof that the US government planted explosives that caused the collapse, so I’ve seen all manner of the irrational.
People fear and believe the dumbest things.
Brilliant. Exactly. It has annoyed me alot aswell. By the end of this week i must have told 50 people not to be stupid and by the day before power up just couldnt be bothered to explain.
yes actually brilant
But your not saying it can’t happen?