An experiment which could destroy the Earth

chrisoff · Post by **chrisoff** » Tue May 01, 2007 4:53 am

In late 2007 / early 2008 an experiment is set to begin operation at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Switzerland.

The experiment is basically going to recreate the conditions immediately after the Big Bang.

Apparently this experiment has a 1 in 50,000,000 chance of creating an event of cataclysmic proportions which could destroy the Earth or even the Universe. These events include:

Creation of a stable black hole
Creation of strange matter which is more stable than ordinary matter which could, in theory, leadto a chain reaction, at the end of which all the nuclei of all the atoms on Earth have been converted, and Earth has been reduced to a hot cloud of strangelets.
Creation of a false vacuum which could trigger a vacuum metastability event (the ultimate ecological catastrophe apparently, making life as we know it impossible as well as chemistry).

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

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Tue May 01, 2007 4:57 am

What are we waiting for? ... let's get started.

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Tue May 01, 2007 4:58 am

Where do I sign up?

chas · Post by **chas** » Tue May 01, 2007 5:46 am

They were talking about the same thing when they began a new experiment at Brookhaven a couple of years ago. Unless we're all dreaming, it didn't happen.

Innocent Bystander · Post by **Innocent Bystander** » Tue May 01, 2007 5:49 am

"The Time Police wouldn't let that kind of thing happen."

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Tue May 01, 2007 6:12 am

chrisoff wrote:...and Earth has been reduced to a hot cloud of strangelets.

I've lived with hot clouds of strangelets. It's not that bad really.

Tyler · Post by **Tyler** » Tue May 01, 2007 6:26 am

emmline wrote:
chrisoff wrote:...and Earth has been reduced to a hot cloud of strangelets.
I've lived with hot clouds of strangelets. It's not that bad really.

Yeah, this whole place is filled with strangelets, I don't see what the fuss is about.

Ro3b · Post by **Ro3b** » Tue May 01, 2007 6:36 am

Yeah, when I was younger and playing in bands a lot, I'd attract clouds of hot strangelets. Clouds of them! They'd come to all our shows and stand down front, and sometimes they'd send creepy fan letters with surprising enclosures. It got to be kind of disturbing because even though they were undeniably hot, they were also, um, strange.

What were we talking about again?

djm · Post by **djm** » Tue May 01, 2007 6:36 am

Naw, everyone here is so boringly normal and dull its frightening.

There's a couple of projects coming to fruition in Europe over the next couple of years. Project ATLAS will generate so much data that dp centres are being built around the world to handle it all, including one in Vancouver that will only be able to handle 5%.

There's a giant laser being built in France that is supposed to recreate the blast effects of nuclear weapons without having to actually set off nuclear weapons. On off-days it will be used to investigate nuclear fusion as a power source.

djm

CHasR · Post by **CHasR** » Tue May 01, 2007 7:14 am

So, is there like any greyhound racing involved in any of this?

I like the dog races.

Anglorfin · Post by **Anglorfin** » Tue May 01, 2007 7:40 am

Don't they realize that through every incarnation of black hole techonology in any type of sci-fi production that it ALWAYS leads to disaster?

AaronMalcomb · Post by **AaronMalcomb** » Tue May 01, 2007 11:14 am

chrisoff wrote:In late 2007 / early 2008 an experiment is set to begin operation at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Switzerland.

And here I thought CERN was just a fictional plot device in a Dan Brown novel.

djm · Post by **djm** » Tue May 01, 2007 11:30 am

Yeah, sure, its so easy to dis CERN.

djm

anniemcu · Post by **anniemcu** » Tue May 01, 2007 11:42 am

Umm... it's not by any chance named "The Armageddon Project" is it?

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Tue May 01, 2007 11:58 am

Why don't people take this seriously?

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