This BBC news article caught my attention today. Apparently, we’re not at risk from the Large Hadron Collider causing a Black Hole that will swallow the earth. It’s going to be fine. Go back to your knitting.
What? …Black hole? …Wha? …Are you sure? Really, Really sure? Have you looked everywhere? Sure? UNDER THE KITCHEN CUPBOARD?… Not even a little one that could swallow a Hamster?
It’s funny how those words “there are no risks” can induce panic.
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Shaun Inman said 197 days ago:
Has CERN already forgotten the disaster that was Howard the Duck!?
Stephen Hay said 197 days ago:
Come on, Jon. The thing’s like 100m underground. It’s safe by default.
Louije said 197 days ago:
Actually, it’s the quotes around not at risk that ‘scare’ me.
Jon Hicks said 197 days ago:
NOT FROM A FRICKIN’ BLACK HOLE WE’RE NOT!!!
Remember – vacuum sucks, and so do black holes.
Paul D. Waite said 197 days ago:
I think that, even if a little black hole is created, it probably wouldn’t be stable for long enough to cause any damage.
Probably. Hey ho. You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs.
Sheldon Kotyk said 197 days ago:
I sure hope they have a QA environment.
Matthew Hall said 197 days ago:
Well the reason we are safe is that there is so little matter that the black hole, which actually likely will be created(antimatter really), will burn out in exponentially less then a second. Theres no concern really.
Chris Hester said 197 days ago:
I worry about these experiments. What if they caused an effect that got out of control? The whole planet could be destroyed.
Rob said 197 days ago:
My father-in-law is involved in the project, and when interviewed about the experiment, he said this:
“The most exciting thing of all is we have absolutely no idea what will happen until we switch it on.“
I hope this puts your mind at rest.
Robert Wünsch said 197 days ago:
Well, better everything just vanishes in one big hole than some atomic explosions that only devastate the planet, but leave alot of people alive, right? And hey, if the experiment works out fine, all energy problems might be solved.
Still I hope, they have an Igor for pulling the lever. Just to be sure.
Jon Hicks said 197 days ago:
Priceless!! ;o)
Ash said 196 days ago:
It’s funny you mention this. Only last night I spent half an hour watching BBCs End:Day. A sort of docu-drama running through 5 ways the planet could be destroyed (or partly messed up at least). It’s worth a watch if you haven’t seen it (it’s all on youtube, of course).
Stephen Hay said 196 days ago:
But… they say it’s safe! ;)
Sean Foushee said 196 days ago:
I was watching a special on the construction of the Collider a few months ago and had the same thought when they explained how scientists were hoping to create a black hole. Seriously, I know the theory behind it seems safe, but deep down part of me would really hate to be pulled out of existence trough a pinhole.
Ian Lloyd said 196 days ago:
The biggest risk of a Large Hadron Collider is spelling Hadron wrong. Transpose two letters in Hadron and the ‘Large Hardon Collider’ takes on a whole different meaning.
I am so childish.
Jon Hicks said 196 days ago:
It’s like, leave a post for a day or so, and wait for the knob gag from Lloyd! :D
Paul Annett said 195 days ago:
They’re essentially saying “its ok, we predict no unforseen consequences” umm….
Richard (Peacock Carter) said 190 days ago:
I’ve used Opera since v7, and have to say I’m really not a fan of v9.5: many shortcuts have been changed (for example, view source is now Ctrl + U, as for other browsers, and there seems to be no shortcut for ‘duplicate tab’), and the look and feel has been ruined: it no longer feels like Opera; it feels like Safari. If I’d wanted Safari, I’d have used it!
FF3, on the other hand, feels like a genuine step forwards: cleaner, easier to use and less ‘chunky’ than previous versions, in my mind at least.
Adam Spooner said 189 days ago:
I guess they’ve never read Flash Forward by Robert J. Sawyer. It’s a book about CERN’s Large Hadron Collider and its nasty side effects. Basically, we’re all screwed.
Jasper Kennis said 180 days ago:
Who’s not? You know what I’d say? Turn it on! Do you have any idea what the damn thing costed? And do you know who paid for that? Right, we did!
How cool is that, I partially paid for the demolition of an entire planet, MY OWN planet!
And who knows, íf there’ll be black hole, how big the thing will be. Maybe the whole solar stellar will be destroyed!
Anyway, we still have ‘till 2020 or something before the thing will be done, isn’t it, so until then we can wonder, what to do if we won’t be destroyed? Guess I’ll probably buy a Mac after all.
Oh, and can someone tell me what that Richard guy is talking about:p
Jon Hicks said 180 days ago:
Pure Class!