Stop doing your homework, don’t worry about papers, don’t pay your bills, don’t make weekend plans, don’t even finish applying to MIT, there’s no point. This is goodbye, this is my last post. I know what you’re thinking “But Chris, why on Earth wouldn’t shirk my responsibilities? What do you mean this is the end?”
Three words friends:
Large.
Hadron.
Collider.
Yes boys and girls, the doomsday device built under the guise of solving physics goes online today (err…technically it’s already been online since this morning, but we’ll ignore that for the sake of sensationalism). In case you aren't convinced of the collider's sinister intent, take a look at the thing.
 |
| From for blog |
Whoa, yea it's big. In fact it's the largest single object ever built. Only thing you can't see is the engine room where they feed it babies, or so I assume. Ok but seriously, what makes this so special? why is it the end of the world? Well in a very simplified nutshell, the LHC seeks to reproduce scenarios similar to the beginning of the universe (read:Big Bang). In doing so they hope to find this one particular particle (hehe that's fun to say) that can help rationalize gravity on the quantum level, and thus finish the standard model a.k.a The Unified Theory, a.k.a Physics. That's right, it seeks to finish physics (in which case, I'll have to switch my major).
The interesting thing is that this thing is so powerful and so totally unprecedented in terms of the reactions that there are possibilities that it could destroy the world in a variety of fashions. Theres even been injunctions filed against starting it up, and death threats against scientists operating the device.
Of course, scientists assure us that there really isn't anything to worry about, that the probabilities are enormously underwhelming. (Then again, of course they'd say that, after all, if they're wrong, who's going to be around to call them liars?) One thing that is agreeable is that the LHC stands poised to change the world. If they're right, then the Higgs Boson particle will help complete the unified theory, but maybe what's most exciting is the counter-possibility. If it turns out that there is no particle, that means somewhere we've been wrong and it will still foster a huge advance in our understanding of physics. Either way it's nothing short of breath-takingly exciting (though as a piece of social advice, it's not really a good topic for party-talk).
Oh and I nearly forgot, the little company who's in charge of this thing, CERN? Yea,at MIT you can do an IROP (close cousin to the UROP) study there If I'm ever fortunate enough to make it over there while I'm here at MIT, I'll be sure to let you know what the apocalypse looks like firsthand.
P.S. in light of the dwindling time we have left here on Earth, I propose that instead of being so proud to be the first person to comment, you should all try and be the last person to comment "LAST"
Comments (Closed after 30 days to reduce spam)
Posted by: First! on September 10, 2008
Posted by: First! on September 10, 2008
Posted by: Kelly (13 Hopeful) on September 10, 2008
Posted by: Alex on September 10, 2008
Posted by: Ruth '13? on September 10, 2008
Posted by: Alex on September 10, 2008
http://lhc.web.cern.ch/lhc/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Hadron_Collider
Hey you forgot an important thing!!!
How could you, you idiot?
Live Webcast:
http://dl.groovygecko.net/anon.groovy/groovygecko/cern/index.asp
http://webcast.cern.ch/index.html
http://webcast.cern.ch/index2.html
Revenge of the Nerds:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Hadron_Collider
http://img388.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ohptoftimemeasured13sepjy2.png
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/so-what-the-heck-is-a-hadron-924346.html
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/10/1253226
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/us-research-networks-link-scientists/story.aspx?guid={74D00E1E-0973-4C0A-A5BC-6FD9F537140B}&dist=hppr
Posted by: YouGotOneShotAtLife on September 10, 2008
Posted by: 0 on September 10, 2008
(btw I don't comment as Chris, so don't worry - you won't cause confusion. though I still think rhombus is a good idea) =p
Posted by: Oasis '11 on September 10, 2008
Posted by: Eric Stoller on September 10, 2008
Posted by: Snively on September 10, 2008
Posted by: 0 on September 10, 2008
Excellent pick! I love Cracked.com! it keeps me sane.
Posted by: Chris '12 on September 10, 2008
Posted by: Shannon on September 10, 2008
Posted by: 0 on September 10, 2008
Posted by: inteleyes on September 10, 2008
Also, an IROP at CERN!?!? Now there's something to drool over.
Posted by: Kasey on September 10, 2008
Wait a minute I think I see something very very black, oh it's only night--silly me, I thought the black hole effect was taking place.
Posted by: Africa on September 10, 2008
Posted by: stillalive on September 10, 2008
It's kind of amusing to see the paranoia surrounding this thing, actually. I was watching the news today and they were talking about the three major earthquakes today and how they just happened to be on the same day the LHC was turned on, and how maybe the LHC was the reason for the earthquakes.
Well, no stopping now!
Posted by: Anon on September 10, 2008
By the way, I think that the worrld did end this morning.And that we all(excluding My sanity,Man I can't find it!)got shifted to another parallel universe.
Come on prove me wrong.(You can't)
Posted by: I am Dead(Wesh m) on September 10, 2008
Middle.
Posted by: Ahmed on September 11, 2008
Onto more important matters, I read somewhere that if a black hole is created, it would take 50 months to devour the whole planet. That's November 2012, close to the apocalypse date the Mayans predicted...
Posted by: Kevin on September 11, 2008
Actually I hope they really find the Higgs. Who doesnt like Relativity and QM explained simultaneously and things nice and orderly!
PS: it'd be cool to get martyred, even though the poor scientists have gone crazy shouting we wont.
Posted by: Ahana on September 11, 2008
Posted by: Sukrit on September 11, 2008
Posted by: Jeremy on September 11, 2008
I once asked my teacher whether light would bend in a magnetic field just as it does in a glass slab.and got a really bad scowl. I'll give $20billion to anyone who answers that.
Sorry got carried away by the powerful magnets of the LHC.
Posted by: wesh m on September 11, 2008
Posted by: Ashwath on September 11, 2008
Posted by: Richard on September 11, 2008
Unfortunately, light is composed of an oscillating electric and magnetic field, and thus obeys a principal called linearity. Essentially, two fields don't change each other, so a light ray will continue through the field without being bent.
In short, light can't be bent by magnets, it can however be skewed by gravity.
Posted by: Chris '12 on September 11, 2008
Posted by: anonymous on September 11, 2008
haha, I think that that wormhole thing could be quite interesting. Cheers - maybe the Mayans were right and this thing malfunctions in 2012 xD
Posted by: 0 on September 11, 2008
Funny thing is the government dosent allow us to do stem cell research but allows us to make black holes.
Posted by: Ehsan on September 11, 2008
Posted by: 0 on September 11, 2008
http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-4125.html
Interesting Discussion on bending of a light ray by a magnetic field
**************************************************
Make it worthwhile
http://lhc.web.cern.ch/lhc/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Hadron_Collider
Hey you forgot an important thing!!!
How could you, you idiot?
Live Webcast:
http://dl.groovygecko.net/anon.groovy/groovygecko/cern/index.asp
http://webcast.cern.ch/index.html
http://webcast.cern.ch/index2.html
Revenge of the Nerds:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Hadron_Collider
http://img388.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ohptoftimemeasured13sepjy2.png
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/so-what-the-heck-is-a-hadron-924346.html
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/10/1253226
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/us-research-networks-link-scientists/story.aspx?guid={74D00E1E-0973-4C0A-A5BC-6FD9F537140B}&dist=hppr
Posted by: YouGotOneShotAtLife on September 12, 2008
Comments have mellowed...
Posted by: Ahana on September 12, 2008
but how then does it get bent in the ionosphere.
Is it due to density change or something?
Noooo! Don't answer it, I want to be the last.
Posted by: wesh m on September 12, 2008
In any case, the main argument against stem cell research is that harvesting ES cells in order JUST to do the research is destroying a (potential) human life, something the Large Hadron Collider doesn't do.
Posted by: 0 on September 12, 2008
Posted by: moose '12 on September 12, 2008
Posted by: Danielle on September 12, 2008
Maybe you've read my e-mail, I'm a nerd too, jajaja, but also I'm interested in other kind of things, but who cares?
Nice article my friend, maybe we wont have any answers for this experiment, I mean, it wont be the same as it was million years ago, right?
Posted by: MeLiSsA J.G.T. on September 13, 2008
Posted by: MeLiSsA J.G.T. on September 13, 2008
Posted by: Richard on September 14, 2008
Posted by: Pranav on September 15, 2008
Posted by: 0 on September 15, 2008
I was so excited about the LHC, which weirded my friends out a little.
Only other person who even knew about it at my school was my science teacher.
Posted by: Helen on September 15, 2008
I read your other blog, and they're pretty awesome. =D
Posted by: Helen on September 15, 2008
Anyway, the whole "extra-dimension" and "wormhole/time travel" talk reminds me of the experiment in The Mist. If extra-dimensional crabs do come out of the LHC, I'll be sure to have boiling butter and giant nut crackers for defensive tactics.
I really hope they find the Higgs, although theoretical physics and universal relativity equations usually turn out to be a disappointment with major setbacks. Good luck, mad scientists!
Posted by: 0 on September 15, 2008
Posted by: Danielle on September 16, 2008
Posted by: Ehsan on September 16, 2008
Posted by: wesh m on September 17, 2008
and also..."Get ready for a bigger Bang", means they are planing to make a bigger collider this time. They plan to finish it till 2012...
@Danielle:
well... things are so weird here usually... but this one has a right to win an oscar...
Posted by: sidd'13? on September 17, 2008
Posted by: sidd'13? on September 17, 2008
Posted by: 0 on September 17, 2008
Posted by: Ehsan on September 17, 2008
Posted by: sidd'13? on September 18, 2008
Posted by: Ehsan on September 18, 2008
Posted by: Anonymous on September 18, 2008
Posted by: philip on September 19, 2008
Posted by: Ehsan on September 19, 2008
Posted by: Helen on September 20, 2008
Posted by: Gabriel on September 21, 2008
Posted by: Shravani on September 22, 2008
Posted by: Ehsan on September 23, 2008
Posted by: Kim on September 25, 2008
Posted by: Ehsan on September 27, 2008
:]
Posted by: Anon on September 27, 2008
Posted by: Ehsan on September 27, 2008
Posted by: Chris on October 1, 2008
Posted by: Ehsan on October 1, 2008
Posted by: Cassaundra on October 8, 2008
Posted by: Daniel on October 9, 2008
Comments have been closed.