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You may have seen the Linear Accelerator at Stanford University. If you have then you know how amazing it is, stretching nearly a mile long it is remarkable that it was build by a school. Now, a structure built by CERN will dwarf Stanford and all other atom smashers around the world.
The LHC (Large Hadron Collider) has been talked about in many books and lectures like one of my favorites: Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku. Now, the LHC has been built, and it more magnificent then anyone of us could have ever predicted.
Some people were supposedly worried that when the LHC was fired up for its first test the world would explode, every time I hear that I laugh out loud.
Picture Credit: Roy Langstaff, © CERN
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/08/the_large_hadron_collider.html
Picture Credit: Maximilien Brice, © CERN
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/08/the_large_hadron_collider.html
I look forward to upcoming tests, as this is a milestone in the development of Quantum Physics.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Unveiling the LHC- One Giant Leap For Physics
Posted by Brennon at 12:05 PM
Labels: Physics, science news
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9 comments:
Please keep us informed about the LHC. It sounds almost like science fiction to those of us readers who do not understand physics at this level. How can it be helpful to mankind?
The LHC will be extremely helpful as it will provide much more information on the nature and existence of sub-atomic particles.
Thanks for asking. :)
What great photos. I feel like I'm inside. Now I want to know more about how they work.
Thanks. I'll be following their future tests. you needn't worry, I will do my best to add many more work on the LHC when we get some results.
Thanks for your input.
This is a whole new realm that you are opening for me. I'm very curious about it.
The reason the LHC is so exciting to scientists is that it may reveal (prove, or maybe disprove) the existence of a certain particle called the Higgs Boson, sometimes affectionately termed "The God Particle". (On a slightly tangential note, there's a great book by Leon Lederman called exactly that.)
Put simply, the Higgs Boson is speculated to be the particle associated with gravity, similar to how photons are associated with electromagnetism.
Because of the immense power of the LHC and the nature of the collisions they would be performing, there were concerns that the LHC might create a black hole (or some other equally sensationalist disaster).
Personally, I'm inclined to believe that thanks to Hawking radiation, any micro-black holes that could potentially form will disappear swiftly. And besides, they've switched it on once before and we're still alive.
Then again, that may be because of quantum suicide.
I heard an interview online with Brian Greene on the idea that the LHC will create a "baby" black hole, but as you said, it will dissipate in a fraction of a second.
I read about the Higgs Boson in one of Greene's books, and I saw a NOVA episode about it. I most likely have the book lying around, but I've never gotten around to reading it.
Could it be "The Elegant Universe"? There is a three hour NOVA series on the book, hosted by Brian Greene - this book & series first introduced me to several scientific fields which I now take great interest in (quantum mechanics, string theory, etc). Highly recommended :)
Ahhhh, The Elegant Universe. That was the book that got me into quantum physics. That was my favorite NOVA of all time.
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