Will the CERN Proton Smasher Smash Us? - The Spirit of Prometheus Lives On in Man
September 22 2008 / by TonyManfredi
Category: Technology Year: General Rating: 4 Hot
Underneath the mountainous Swiss Alps the Large Hadron Reactor was completed, albeit now under repair. A recent news report talks of a young Indian girl who committed suicide after hearing of the smashers potentially devastating effects. In the same country women and children have flocked to shrines to pray it won’t precipitate the end of all terranean life.
According to some this 10 billion dollar behemoth is so powerful it could create mini-singularities, aka black holes, that could gobble up more and more of the Earth’s matter until we and our planet are consumed. Believe it or not some people genuinely think this might happen, and have even filed lawsuits in American and European Courts to stop this device from being turned on. While the probability that this machine will destroy us is as sub-atomically small as the very thing we will use it to study, it raises some very interesting questions for the future. More and more our scientific eye is turning to focus on the most incredible questions underlying our very existence, using technology to research these areas that are little understood.
Depending on your point of view that could be more than just a little frightening.
Physicists, through a relentless need to understand our universe, have paved the way to our greatest technological leaps. The research conducted in the 20th century unlocked an unprecedented insight into the forces of electricity, magnetism, gravity, and the atom. These inquiries into the nature of our universe then gave birth to wonders both terrible and triumphant, from computers to nuclear weapons. What followed was the unification of these forces, such as electricity and magnetism, that allowed for the birth of computers and all that they have enabled. And now we are on the brink of the granddaddy of all such convergences, the unification of all forces into a super force, say physicists.
The super force is rooted in superstring theory, which some believe explains the fundamental base-level conditions that made possible the Big Bang, that created the heavens and the earth, the sun, and that makes all the wondrous technologies of the earth possible, according to many scientists. Among the possible spin-off effects of understanding this super force are quantuum computing, controlled fusion power, and the understanding of the eqautions that would open up the fabric of space-time.
As we begin to enter a profound age, instruments of discovery, such as the Hadron Collider, may seem increasingly terrifying and difficult to understand. Still, we as a global society will have to decide whether or not to continue tunneling down to the supersting level, funneling resources into such grand science experiments even if it might result in our own demise.
Can we stop ourselves? Can we keep from getting burned as we try to harness the fire?
Correction: Thanks to Cpt Sunbeam for pointing out that the CERN collider smashes protons and not atoms. The header has been adjusted accordingly.
Comment Thread (12 Responses)
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I’d be careful about claiming that the results of the experiment could be “frightening”. It’s far (far) more likely to be “enlightening”, and at the very least will lead to the usual spinoffs we come to expect from accelerator technology, e.g. medical devices, the internet.
I have to wonder why anyone would continue to claim that the LHC could create microsingularites capable of “gobbling” up the earth. The planet is struck daily by more powerful events, we call them cosmic rays, and in fact particle physicists study cosmic rays as a ready made physics laboratory. Sorry to burst your bubble, but they haven’t destroyed the planet yet.
One more thing. The LHC is not an “atom” smasher. This is an cringeworthy term which most people use to describe particle accelerators (cringeworthy to an informed person, that is). The LHC will collide protons, not atoms, hence the name, “hadron” collider. This is probably the only thing about the LHC which is easy to understand.
So no, this won’t lead to our “great demise” as you put it, this is just typical anti-intellecualist, anti-progress populism, picturing scientists as an absent minded bespectacled-boffin caracature. It is not a waste of resources, not at all. It is literally a fraction the USA’s miltary spending, and yet it is also shared between about 20 nations. If you want to seek blame for poverty and wasted resources, look to the military.
Posted by: CptSunbeam September 22, 2008
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It seems funny that one part of our society is so far behind the other. Those “mini-singularities” are just microscopic black holes which evaporate in nanoseconds upon creation. They are harmless. That Indian girl was totally irrational. Most of the time, our imaginations get the best of us.
We’ve already opened Pandora’s box on more than one occasion (A-bomb), I don’t think we’re about to stop. Nanotechnology is supposed to be the next “scary” thing, but you don’t see scientists stopping development of that technology, right?
Posted by: Covus September 22, 2008
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Cpt Sunbeam – I think you miss the essence of this post. While your comment is illuminating (as they usually are) and your physicist’s perspective always valuable, the point Tony seems to be making here is that in their drive to figure out the universe the experiments become less accessible and scarier to the common man (with profound results both positive and negative). It is arguable that the negative implementations of these discoveries are driven and executed by the military, but scientists obviously play a central role in their creation. The tone of this post is mostly laudatory of the work – have paved the way to our greatest technological leaps – but raises important issues facing society as we move forward. There will be significant opposition to these and many other scientific advances and experiments over the years (there always have been)and public debate is sure to increase. I for one share your opinion that, barring a systemic dislocating event, accelerating change will trump. Almost by definition those who oppose will be too late, too slow and too focused on individual issues in the face of a target that, in the end, is uncontrollable anyway.
Posted by: Jeff Hilford September 22, 2008
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If you’re right that high energy physics becomes less accessible to the public as it advances, then it seems to me that it’s better for people to educate themselves, since it’s unlikely we’re going to stop building accelerators. Fear is usually the result of ignorance, and if people don’t wise up soon, they’re going to be faced with technologies far “scarier” than this.
Actually I’m quite pleased with the overall tone of this post too, but I think we need to sharpen our understanding of the underlying science – if technological optimists struggle with the basics, then its small wonder the voting public react with fear, even terror.
Posted by: CptSunbeam September 22, 2008
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In the future it will most likely become increasingly difficult for the majority of society to pass judgement on these large scale projects in any sensible way. Another thing that was not mentioned – this project required massive international cooperation, as most of these projects will likely require (think of the machine built in the movie Contact) As we move forward maybe a better question is what type of international body should be created to make sense of all this, and who should be placed in these powerful decision-making roles. Typically in history when a group lacks a voice in decisions, anger/fear and even violence can erupt. Maybe we should be lucky that the majority of this took place in a mostly peaceful Hindu country.
Posted by: TonyManfredi September 22, 2008
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Cpt Submeam: If you’re right that high energy physics becomes less accessible to the public as it advances, then it seems to me that it’s better for people to educate themselves, since it’s unlikely we’re going to stop building accelerators.
I wholeheartedly agree, but think that humans won’t simply choose to become physics experts, or even basically physics-aware, unless they are incented or it becomes easier. Fortunately, I think simulations and new learning tech will come to the rescue. Learning about the stuff interactively, ie through immersive video gaming will be a great way to up the physics awareness. Rather than gripe, need to solve, though a govt that pushed better education and science awareness would certainly be helpful to establish the right conditions.
Tony Manfredi: As we move forward maybe a better question is what type of international body should be created to make sense of all this, and who should be placed in these powerful decision-making roles.
CERN is just one minor event that suggests a need for more centralized international decision making. At the same time, complex adaptive systems (on all levels) like to establish redundancy and a competitive environment. Perhaps a buddhist leadership would better deal with all of these social conflicts. :)
Posted by: Alvis Brigis September 22, 2008
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I mean to write Cpt Sunbeam and not Submeam, and hope you are not offended. :) I did not mean to imply that you are below the memetic dialogue. lol
Posted by: Alvis Brigis September 22, 2008
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This thing is going to kill us all…
Posted by: Kalverson September 22, 2008
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No worries Alvis, there doesn’t seem to be a way of correcting typos on this thing! I’ve made some hilarious typing errors in the past.
And Kalverson, I hope that was a joke. It’s hard to tell really, I’m detecting some Monty Python style humour there.
Posted by: CptSunbeam September 22, 2008
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@ Kalverson: Maybe this thing is going to save us all by advancing science in the face of hostile alien invasion. :)
(btw, that is a joke, I think…)
Posted by: Alvis Brigis September 22, 2008
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Sadly, there people like this who think the LHC will lead to an invasion by an alien race. And I don’t think they are joking.
I think the LHC will be neither our savior nor our downfall. Hopefully we will unlock some more secrets to quantum particles and over time that will lead to more advances in fields like quantum computing. I think not much will change in the near term, but I am excited to watch the progress.
Posted by: Mielle Sullivan September 23, 2008
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I just found this too. “Both the LHC and the Space program are vital if the human race is not to stultify and eventually die out. Together they cost less than one tenth of a per cent of world GDP. If the human race can not afford this, then it doesn’t deserve the epithet ‘human’.” -Stephen Hawking.
Gosh, everyone is so dramatic about this thing.
Posted by: Mielle Sullivan September 23, 2008
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