CERN collider completes first test, now for the "Big Bang"
Ian Brockwell
September 10, 2008
Scientists from all over the world were celebrating today after the initial tests on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) proved successful. The experiment, carried out on the Swiss-French border, was able to send particle beams in both directions along a 27 km underground chamber.
The experiment has attracted a lot of controversy and many have feared that the device could cause the destruction of our planet (by creating Black Holes for example), although the scientists involved have laughed off such suggestions as "ridiculous"
Whilst some of those, who expressed concern over this mornings experiment, may be relieved to find our planet still in one piece, it should be pointed out that today´s tests were nothing more than an opportunity to check the basic functions of the collider.
The real test, to try and recreate the conditions of the "Big Bang", are yet to come. This is where the scientists plan to smash particle beams together, with protons traveling at close to the speed of light. The date for this part of the experiment has yet to be decided, but after today´s test it is expected quite soon.
Scientists hope that by smashing the particles together, the result may make it possible to better understand things like gravity and mass. They also hope to find the theoretical particle called the "Higgs Boson", named after the Scottish scientist Peter Higgs, who first suggested its existence in 1964.
The Higgs Boson, also known as the "God particle" is believed to give matter its mass.
Although there was a minor "glitch" during the test this morning, generally things went according to plan. However, some may worry about Lyn Evans (project leader) words when he said "This is a machine of enormous complexity. Things can go wrong at any time. But this morning we had a great start."
Should we be worried by the CERN collider experiments? The experts tell us that there is nothing to worry about, but they are exploring very new territory and one has to wonder whether there is an element of wishful thinking involved.
However, there seems to be little chance of stopping these experiments from going ahead and I guess we shall find out the truth soon enough. If the scientists are right, we should make some interesting discoveries. If they are wrong, it won´t really matter as we may end up being swallowed by a Black Hole!
I´d like to conclude by making an observation. According to some scientists, the creation of the universe began with an incredibly dense object (the size of a small coin) which exploded in a void (the Big Bang), throwing out matter that created all the Stars and Planets (including our own of course). If such a small object can do that, couldn´t an experiment recreating this effect do the same (but on a much smaller scale)? It may not be large enough to create a new universe, but if it really does reproduce a small scale "Big Bang", can we be really certain that it won´t cause an explosion large enough to destroy our planet or even our solar system?
I´m no scientist, but if the experiment is to discover the creation of the universe, it should recreate the exact same conditions (on a smaller scale of course). If it doesn´t, what will it prove? If the conditions are being repeated exactly, surely this must present a danger of some kind?
Sadly, if I am right, I won´t be around to say "I told you so". But then no one else will be here to listen anyway!
The experiment has attracted a lot of controversy and many have feared that the device could cause the destruction of our planet (by creating Black Holes for example), although the scientists involved have laughed off such suggestions as "ridiculous"
Whilst some of those, who expressed concern over this mornings experiment, may be relieved to find our planet still in one piece, it should be pointed out that today´s tests were nothing more than an opportunity to check the basic functions of the collider.
The real test, to try and recreate the conditions of the "Big Bang", are yet to come. This is where the scientists plan to smash particle beams together, with protons traveling at close to the speed of light. The date for this part of the experiment has yet to be decided, but after today´s test it is expected quite soon.
Scientists hope that by smashing the particles together, the result may make it possible to better understand things like gravity and mass. They also hope to find the theoretical particle called the "Higgs Boson", named after the Scottish scientist Peter Higgs, who first suggested its existence in 1964.
The Higgs Boson, also known as the "God particle" is believed to give matter its mass.
Although there was a minor "glitch" during the test this morning, generally things went according to plan. However, some may worry about Lyn Evans (project leader) words when he said "This is a machine of enormous complexity. Things can go wrong at any time. But this morning we had a great start."
Should we be worried by the CERN collider experiments? The experts tell us that there is nothing to worry about, but they are exploring very new territory and one has to wonder whether there is an element of wishful thinking involved.
However, there seems to be little chance of stopping these experiments from going ahead and I guess we shall find out the truth soon enough. If the scientists are right, we should make some interesting discoveries. If they are wrong, it won´t really matter as we may end up being swallowed by a Black Hole!
I´d like to conclude by making an observation. According to some scientists, the creation of the universe began with an incredibly dense object (the size of a small coin) which exploded in a void (the Big Bang), throwing out matter that created all the Stars and Planets (including our own of course). If such a small object can do that, couldn´t an experiment recreating this effect do the same (but on a much smaller scale)? It may not be large enough to create a new universe, but if it really does reproduce a small scale "Big Bang", can we be really certain that it won´t cause an explosion large enough to destroy our planet or even our solar system?
I´m no scientist, but if the experiment is to discover the creation of the universe, it should recreate the exact same conditions (on a smaller scale of course). If it doesn´t, what will it prove? If the conditions are being repeated exactly, surely this must present a danger of some kind?
Sadly, if I am right, I won´t be around to say "I told you so". But then no one else will be here to listen anyway!
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