Topic: Blackhole Maker

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=325&objectid=10400645

Pretty nifty.

My favorite quote from the article:

They estimate the possibility of accidentally destroying the planet as extremely low.

"You mean like one in a hundred?"

"More like one in a million."

"So you're sayin' there's a chance! YEAH!"

:::11oh1:::

:/

quote:

---

"For the first time in many decades we have built a machine that exceeds our powers of prediction

---

Is that scary, or is it just me ?

quote:

---

Scientists aim to reproduce miniature versions of the so-called Big Bang, which is thought to have started the universe.

---

Didn`t the First One, by definition, have to be a miniature one also ?
Just look what`s happened to THAT one since then.

I saw a tour on that facility on "beyond tomorrow" totally amazing stuff.

quote:

---

quote[quote]"For the first time in many decades we have built a machine that exceeds our powers of prediction"

---

Is that scary, or is it just me ?

---

My knowledge of the particle physics field in general is a couple years out of date, so I'll try and keep my comments at a high enough level that I don't stick my foot in my mouth
Just a little scary, however, it's not like they were doing this blind and haven't thought about the possibilities. There are lots and lots of theories of what there is and what there could be (M Theory, String Theory, Superstrings, 12 dimensions, 13 dimensions, combinations of these, etc), most of which gain popularity and settle with it's crowd while another theory is developed. There just hasn't been sufficient evidence to support any one theory entirely, everything has been on paper, crunching numbers. The LHC will finally let us see what we've been talking about for years now.

quote:

---

quote[quote]Scientists aim to reproduce miniature versions of the so-called Big Bang, which is thought to have started the universe.

---

Didn`t the First One, by definition, have to be a miniature one also ?
Just look what`s happened to THAT one since then.

---

"Miniature" in physical size and dimensions, yes, the first one was, however the amount of energy is by no means "miniature." The LHC will be creating big bangs with comparatively miniscule amounts of energy.

I think it's absolutely amazing what this accelerator will be able to do. I can't wait
I would absolutely love to be able to work at CERN and with the LHC. I have a feeling they're gonna find some insanely amazing things (the Higgs Boson, Supersymmetry, maybe something we haven't even began to think of yet). The computer graphics department at the Discovery channel is gonna have a real hard time keeping up with this

--

Any sufficiently advanced bug is indistinguishable from a feature.

(Edited by Lord_Fukutoku on 09-21-2006 16:12)

quote:

---

Physicists hope to use the collider to enhance their ability to answer the following questions:

* Is the popular Higgs mechanism for generating elementary particle masses in the Standard Model violated? If not, how many Higgs bosons are there, and what are their masses2]numbek]
* Will the more precise measurements of the masses of baryons continue to be mutually consistent within the Standard Model?
* Do particles have supersymmetric ("SUSY") partners?
* Why are there violations of the symmetry between matter and antimatter?
* Are there extra dimensions, as predicted by various models inspired by string theory, and can we "see" them?
* What is the nature of the 96% of the universe's mass which is unaccounted for by current astronomical observations?
* Why is gravity so many orders of magnitude weaker than the other three fundamental forces?

---

from: LHC at wikipedia


Another good read: What is the LHC?

--

Any sufficiently advanced bug is indistinguishable from a feature.

quote:

---

docilebob said:

quote:"For the first time in many decades we have built a machine that exceeds our powers of prediction



Is that scary, or is it just me ?

---

That bothered me when I read it. The tone of the entire article scares me. "We don't know what we're doing. We don't understand the physics behind it, but we hope that by playing with really explosive, really dangerous toys we won't blow up the world and we might learn something about the universe."

Yeah that scares me.

I'm just hoping that it's really bad reporting on the part of the article's author, because none of scientists I know present that kind of an attitude to science.

quote:

---

Lord_Fukutoku said:

The LHC will be creating big bangs with comparatively miniscule amounts of energy.

---

Wouldn't that by definition make them minuscule bangs?

.



-- not necessarily stoned... just beautiful.

It's not scary at all, it's f**king great!

Scientist get a tool to verify their theories, but it's more than that, much more. It will provide them new data never seen before upon which they will have to elaborate completely new theories if the current ones do not match.

Don't worry, access to the LHC won't be granted to the first idiot.

OTOH mini bang is a cool name.

oh yes and dont forget it'S not the first time we do stuff without knowing what will happen : remeber when firing the first Nuclear bomb scientists didn't know if the chainreaction would stopp^^ .. i can't wait to here news about it..is there something like a official newsletter ??

Wow, I didn't think they were that far along!

Cool stuff.

Reminds me of the Well of Souls series...hehe.

WebShaman | The keenest sorrow (and greatest truth) is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities.
- Sophocles

quote:

---

The computer graphics department at the Discovery channel is gonna have a real hard time keeping up with this

---

Nah, they'll just run more Biker Build-Off or Cash Cab. Oy ...

quote:

---

OTOH mini bang is a cool name.

---

I vote Bitty Bang.

quote:

---

Wouldn't that by definition make them minuscule bangs?

---

Miniscule, miniture, tiny, bitty... Take your pick, they're all subjective descriptions. I'll try to remember to dig through my bookshelf this evening or this weekend to find my paper on accelerators. I had a table of the amounts of energy involved in an escalating series of events (everything from a 9V battery (9eV), to heavy ion smashing at the LHC (1150 TeV)).


I second Wes's vote

--

Any sufficiently advanced bug is indistinguishable from a feature.

I sort of like : Bitty-Bitty , Bang- Bang.

That would be when the system has a hiccup, right?


[added: I found the paper I did, but apparently I didn't put the table I'm remembering in it or in my presentation


--

Any sufficiently advanced bug is indistinguishable from a feature.

(Edited by Lord_Fukutoku on 09-25-2006 05:50)

Black hole sun
Wont you come
Wont you come

__________________________________
Something else

Sexy Demoness cel