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LHC Countdown!

Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 2:16 pm
by pdwyer
Doomsday device from hell or what? :twisted:

Coming to a planet near you this week!

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/0 ... lider.html


Image

Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 2:22 pm
by DarkDragon
:lol: We discuss this on the German board for a few months now.

Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 2:41 pm
by srod
That link locks my computer up! :(

Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 2:41 pm
by pdwyer
which is fair enough since your more likely to get singed over there :mrgreen:

Just think, a year from now it will be a memorial to all the great scientists that lost their lives ;)

Actually, more in the Y2K spirit, it's likely to be quite anti climactic, I'll be surprise if something that complex powers up first try, then getting the 27km tunnel to -271 deg, no leaks, no power failures, more iron than two eifel towers and enough cables to go round the planet who knows how many times, all in plugged in correct.

Probably just bluescreen saying "check the cables and then call your system administrator" :lol: 8)

This is very funny though http://www.cracked.com/article_16583_5- ... world.html

Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 2:42 pm
by pdwyer
srod wrote:That link locks my computer up! :(
IE7 doesn't handle it well, try Chrome, it has no trouble

Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 2:45 pm
by PB
As Billy said in Predator: "We're all gonna die." ;)

Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 2:56 pm
by pdwyer
The quote I liked was "Whether it goes very well or disasterously wrong, you won't feel a thing!" :shock:

Theres some good BBC documentaries on it on youtube too, http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktb7LJRbMb8 if you have a spare 30 mins and have an interest in physics

Parts 2 and 3 link from here too

Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 3:22 pm
by berryoxide
Can someone explain a little boy what the heck that thing is? "Particle accelerator" does not tell me a thing. Also I heard about this probably a month ago on the Debian forums and still don't know what it is supposed to do and why do people assume the thing is going to kill everything and everyone? Is it some kind of "mega blaster" that shoots laser beams like in Mega Man games? (Well, it certainly sounds more logical using the Mega Man theory, so don't laugh at me, we all have our hobbies :o )

Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 3:36 pm
by Beach
The wiki page does a good job explaining it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_hadron_collider

It looks like the LHC will attempt to produce the Higgs bosen particle, which is in the standard physics model but has not been observed yet.

I think it is funny how some are calling it Satan's Stargate... :lol:

Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 3:43 pm
by milan1612
berryoxide wrote:Can someone explain a little boy what the heck that thing is? "Particle accelerator" does not tell me a thing. Also I heard about this probably a month ago on the Debian forums and still don't know what it is supposed to do and why do people assume the thing is going to kill everything and everyone? Is it some kind of "mega blaster" that shoots laser beams like in Mega Man games? (Well, it certainly sounds more logical using the Mega Man theory, so don't laugh at me, we all have our hobbies :o )
Basically, it's a circular tunnel running in 30 metres depth below the CERN
facility in Switzerland. The purpose is to accelerate few atoms up to almost
the speed of light and letting them collide. Due to the immense energy that is
released on collision, the atoms will burst into its subatomic elements.
Those elements are still relatively unknown. Huge detectors will detect them
and - hopyfully - help the scientists gain a better understanding of the smallest
elements of the universe.

The fears of some critics are based on the apprehension the atoms could fuse
together creating a very small black hole which then could destroy the earth :?

Hope it helps...

Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 4:10 pm
by srod
French cheese is no bad thing; a good substitute for Swiss cheese if Switzerland is sucked into a black hole! :wink:

Wait a minute; doesn't this collider pass under parts of France as well? Ah bugger, back to Dutch Edam then! Yuk!

Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:13 pm
by maw
Actually, they have already sent particles around the LHC for test purposes. So we already know it works, unless something breaks down ofcourse.

However, tomorrow, September 10th, will be the first particle beam that will be accelerated to near light speed. But they will not collide it then. That will not be done until end of year, beginning of next year. So if you prefer to believe the "It will kill us all"-theory, I'm sorry, tomorrow will not be the end of the earth. We have been accelerating particle beams for many, many years.

However, when they go for the collision then you can begin to chant or whatever you want to do :) Me, I'll just smile when they fail to detect the Higgs Boson and the standard model goes down the drain :twisted:

Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:21 pm
by blueznl
... However, tomorrow, September 9th, ...
It is TODAY september 9... You're post is dated september 9... oh my, the universe is already screwed up!!!

:twisted:

Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:24 pm
by berryoxide
blueznl hi :)

(referring to your last post where I said "hi" as in hello and you replied in the sense as if it was "high".)

Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:25 pm
by maw
blueznl wrote:
... However, tomorrow, September 9th, ...
It is TODAY september 9... You're post is dated september 9... oh my, the universe is already screwed up!!!

:twisted:
I have no idea what you are talking about!!! (Please disregard the last line in my message above)

:oops:

As for the screwed up universe... DUH :lol: