Large hardons will collide on Thursday night

[bascule]

No, it's not Queercon, it's the activation of the Large Hadron Collider, which is due to coincide with an enormous incoming deluge of nerds to Las Vegas. At 11PM Vegas time, the LHC will be activated.

[goathead]

Re: Large hardons will collide on Thursday night

Cheers to beers and black holes.

[xor]

Re: Large hardons will collide on Thursday night

Vegas will be a little purer this weekend. :-)

xor

[Greyhatter]

Re: Large hardons will collide on Thursday night

No, it's not Queercon, it's the activation of the Large Hadron Collider, which is due to coincide with an enormous incoming deluge of nerds to Las Vegas. At 11PM Vegas time, the LHC will be activated.

If it works will we all be "sucked" into it? When will we know? I'm hoping to run into that crazy badass Maximilian Schell along the way.

[jedi]

Re: Large hardons will collide on Thursday night

If it works will we all be "sucked" into it? When will we know? I'm hoping to run into that crazy badass Maximilian Schell along the way.

As long has he doesn't have that red robot Maximilian with him. The image of that thing gave me nightmares as a kid.

Too bad Quark's is closed tonight for a private party. Would have liked a couple of warp cores in me before the world ended.

[Thorn]

Re: Large hardons will collide on Thursday night

As long has he doesn't have that red robot Maximilian with him. The image of that thing gave me nightmares as a kid.

Too bad Quark's is closed tonight for a private party. Would have liked a couple of warp cores in me before the world ended.

You still have time. The full start-up date is over a month way according to Popular Mechanics and other sources. They're just firing a few photons through parts of it tomorrow.

[Greyhatter]

Re: Large hardons will collide on Thursday night

You still have time. They're just firing a few photons through parts of it tomorrow.

Why does "such a casual statement as this scare the shit out of me?" "Oh just firing a few rounds off on the way to extinction?" I flush my toilet this casually. Truth is we don't really know what we're doing here do we? Is there an emergency manual at the facility in Cern on how to control and what to do with a gravity well should we just happen to create one? The upside? I won't have to vote in November if we create the first mini black hole that grows amuck. We'll all just suck then anyway. :~)

[Thorn]

Re: Large hardons will collide on Thursday night

Why does "such a casual statement as this scare the shit out of me?" Oh just firing a few rounds off on the way to extinction? I flush my toilet this casually. Upside? I won't have to vote if we create the first mini blackhole that grows amuck. We'll all just suck then anyway.

Let me ask you this: Why does ignorance of particle & nuclear physics inspire such fear?

Your chances of getting run over and killed crossing the street tomorrow are much higher than the chances that they will 'create a black hole' or some other such foolishness.

[Greyhatter]

Re: Large hardons will collide on Thursday night

Your chances of getting run over and killed crossing the street tomorrow are much higher than the chances that they will 'create a black hole' or some other such foolishness.

I believe that's what was said about landing on the moon. However, let me ask this if I may?.. Costs vs benefit? What has been produced at these plants that I can now use in my personal life for betterment? Oh, and I would not be so sure that we aren't close to creating a real uncontrollable physics situation as the particle accelerators have continued to grow in size expoentially in the name of higher knowledge. Just because we can does not mean that we should. That applies to making babies, hacking, and youtube videos (where in the hell have i..?). BTW, please be considerate where and how you apply the term "ignorance" as I believe Albert Einstein did not even graduate from high school. I'm sure you also know how far Bill Gates absence of formal education brought him just to name a few.

[jedi]

Re: Large hardons will collide on Thursday night

Truth is we don't really know what we're doing here do we? Is there an emergency manual at the facility in Cern on how to control and what to do with a gravity well should we just happen to create one? The upside? I won't have to vote in November if we create the first mini black hole that grows amuck. We'll all just suck then anyway. :~)

My understanding is that one of the failure scenarios when generating a black hole is that they just keep the thing fired up to contain the sucker. Not having a background in physics nor typically having an interest in such things, I decided to google for failure scenario procedures for the thing. While I haven't made it very far down the list yet, I had one hell of a laugh at this:

http://www.longbets.org/382

[Thorn]

Re: Large hardons will collide on Thursday night

I believe that's what was said about landing on the moon.

Exactly, along with a good other many things I've witnessed in my lifetime; and from what I've read of history, this phenomenon has been repeated rather often for a long time. 'We shouldn't do ______ , since we are messing with (the Will of God/basic physics/the very essence of man's existence', etc., etc., etc.)'

However, let me ask this if I may?.. Costs vs benefit? What has been produced at these plants that I can now use in my personal life for betterment?

The benefits of the space program weren't readily apparent until well after the moon landing programs where over, and there are people who claim that the whole space program is a waste right up until the present, and that nothing of benefit has ever been gained.

If you want specific examples of exactly what benefits have come out of research at places like CERN, look through their web sites. They blow their own quite well.

Oh, and I would not be so sure that we aren't close to creating a real uncontrollable physics situation as the particle accelerators have continued to grow in size expoentially in the name of higher knowledge.

I might agree if there was some solid evidence and not just lot of innuendo coupled with a touch of hysteria.

Just because we can does not mean that we should. That applies to making babies, hacking, and youtube videos (where in the hell have i..?).

Well, I'd agree with the premise, and most of those examples.

BTW, please be considerate where and how you apply the term "ignorance" as I believe Albert Einstein did not even graduate from high school. I'm sure you also know how far Bill Gates absence of formal education brought him just to name a few.

The word "ignorance", as applied to the specific subject "particle & nuclear physics" was chosen with care. It's not that you are ignorant in general, and I'm certainly not saying you are stupid, but it would appear that you are lacking knowledge in that area (along with a lot of people.)

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
Ignorance
Ig"no*rance\, n. [F., fr. L. ignorantia.]

1. The condition of being ignorant; the want of knowledge in general, or in relation to a particular subject; the state of being uneducated or uninformed.

Disclosure: I'm not a physicist, nor have I been formally educated in particle/nuclear physics, but I hear about the subject from certain family members who are formally trained in the subject.

[Greyhatter]

Re: Large hardons will collide on Thursday night

Disclosure: I'm not a physicist, nor have I been formally educated in particle/nuclear physics, but I hear about the subject from certain family members who are formally trained in the subject.

Well I feel better about that now! Ok since we already have the A-bomb, and now the H-bomb what will the next explosive invention be? Could be a black hole or could be something beyond a hydrogen explosion? Just going in order here but I believe in what some scientists term the Kardashev scale of advanced civilizations. Some think our scientists could never invent a worm hole or a galactic explosion so why worry. Some say if they do create a worm hole or a galactic explosion it's no worry they'll control it. I think that is silly human arrogance in the guise of the scientific method. Just because we can control nuclear fusion for good (electric generation) does not imply we are ready to handle the next advancements including cold fusion and other nasties particle accelerators may generate. I think you may have taken my concerns as silly in this way but then who ever thought we'd harness the power of the sun and use that as the most powerful weapon on the face of the earth? Can we control the next powerful fusions? I doubt it. I just think if we don't blow ourselves up through enormous weapons of hate we're bound to blow ourselves up through "ignorance" and science toying with the the 'God particle' that will one day be our undoing. This may really get this post flowing but did you ever think we were never meant to travel to space due to the enormous task? Just because you can do something does not mean you have to. Just because you can't do something does not mean you have to try.

[Thorn]

Re: Large hardons will collide on Thursday night

I just think if we don't blow ouselves up through enormous weapons of hate we're bound to blow ouselves up through "ignorance" and science playing with the God participle that will one day be our undoing.

That's one train of thought.

This may really get this post flowing but did you ever think we were never meant to travel to space?

Nope. If anything, I think that we have it in our genes to travel. If anything, we need to get the hell off one planet, and spread out ASAP. That, in my opinion, will stop any worries about the human race destroying itself.

Just because you can do something does not mean you have to. Just because you can't do something does not mean you have to try.

Sure it works both ways, but if we always run away from 'what might happen' then we'd never get anywhere. If we don't have vision, all we have is fears. Personally, I'll take vision, and challenges, and 'die trying', over cowering in the darkness.

[Greyhatter]

Re: Large hardons will collide on Thursday night

Personally, I'll take vision, and challenges, and 'die trying', over cowering in the darkness.

I'm all for a challenge myself but I'm also a realist. Futility is realized when no amount of hard work, resources, or wishing makes it so. That is why life has a beginning and an ending. That is why there is a checkmate, stalemate, and resignation. Only fools sporting enormous egos believe they can do anything God can do. They, as it turns out, are often scientists.

[Thorn]

Re: Large hardons will collide on Thursday night

I'm all for a challenge myself but I'm also a realist. Futility is realized when no amount of hard work, resources, or wishing makes it so. That is why life has a beginning and an ending. That is why there is a checkmate, stalemate, and resignation. Only fools sporting enormous egos believe they can do anything God can do. They, as it turns out, are often scientists.

*sigh*

Here we were having a nice little point/counterpoint, and suddenly superstition is dragged into the conversation. I considered several witty retorts about non-scientific fools and irrational belief systems, but it seems we're already past the P&R prohibition limit, and anything I said would most certainly be well past the line.

If we can keep the point/counterpoint rational, I suppose we could go on, but otherwise we'll have to close the thread. A pity, really.