Big bang on the Web

steve smyth — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:58:35 GMT

Seriously, Al...this is Geeky enough to be interesting and sorta funny...but what good will come of it?
Atom Smashing to Bolero?
I'll take Bo Derek in the surf anytime.
Not much good ever came of her either.
Are we talking about the same thing?
Is Hadron the Geek's Bo Derek?
Big splash...no staying power?

Big bang on the Web

Mark Warrington, Seattle, WA — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:41:42 GMT

There are a ton of funny collider websites out there. The best collider website I've found:

http://hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedearthyet.com/

It makes me chuckle everytime I read it.

Big bang on the Web

Corlan, Austin, TX — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:51:09 GMT

Woohoo!

Very exciting!

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John S. Thailand — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:19:09 GMT

One big kick ass machine, one small step towards the truth of our existence

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Matthew ,virginia beach, VA — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:36:55 GMT

are yall really serious about doing something that could end life as we know it and why would you even risk the chance of creating a machine just to get more minerials and why dont you just dig deeper into the earth

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michael encinias clayton nm — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 02:01:34 GMT

I'm exicited to see what happens,but if it would cause a blackhole and end the world that would be the greatest blunder of man kind.

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aa — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 02:20:55 GMT

One big step for the particles...one small step for humankind...jeje

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Eric High, Houston, TX — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 04:20:04 GMT

Cool. It's amazing how many people were commenting on this thing prior to yesterday. NOW, that there was no negative consequences there's hardly a sole willing to admit they were wrong. Religious freaks were talking, paranoid UFO believers were talking, paranoind people in general were talking. What did the scientists try to tell them? That it was really not going to be a huge deal to anyone outside the relative scientific community. And did we listen? Well, I did, lol. But, others of course were crying about the end of the world and all. Do you now understand why most people are considered idiots?

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Damon — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 04:21:59 GMT

LOL the truth of our existence. Listen to what your saying// You have scientists, who are trying to create conditions to a point in time that they dont even really know for sure 100 %, they were there at the beginning to know 100 % for sure all the conditions needed, and most of all, there is not one piece of observational science to go by to compare this machines data to exactly how it all began.

Even if your not a creationist or dont beliece in god, look at the over view of this whole topic is.
Do you believe in intelligence in the beginning, creating life ? NOPE.. ok then what is this experiment doing ? We are creating the conditions to create the beginning..
So what your saying is YOU, intelligence ( being smart scientists ) are creating life, or beginning matter.. Correct !! WEll wouldnt that just support the entire idea of Intelligence In the beginning creating Life ? Can people not see the dichotomy here ?

From a creationist perspective and what the creationist scientific field has to say

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2008/09/11/big-bang-or-hot-air

and one form back in april http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2008/04/01/in-search-of-god

Big bang on the Web

Nate Yingling — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 04:51:35 GMT

One small step towards the truth of our existence? Give me a break. Have you ever heard of God? While this experiment may produce some interesting science and give us some things we thought we would never see, it will most definitely not define how we got here. In that aspect they will fail miserably and merely prove that we have an intelligent designer, not that we evolved from primordial goop over millions of years.

Big bang on the Web

Jason — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 06:12:30 GMT

Thank God for nerds, because this bores the heck out of me. Atom smasher? Woopee.
No offense to all the wannabe atom smashers, Einstein's theory of relativity probably would've lost my attention too.

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Jason — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 06:13:35 GMT

Isn't Bo Derek like 80?

Big bang on the Web

Tritirtha Roy, Kolkata, West Bengal — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 07:27:41 GMT

what if this greatest ever experiment asks about our existance??had those scientists taken the responsibilities of the world?
But surely,it'll be very exciting seeing the result of a successfull experiment..i'm looking ahead for it..`

Big bang on the Web

waqar ahmed. karachi pakistan — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 07:31:37 GMT

why u perform thtat experement? is that was necessary 4 dop that ? in my openion u can"nt do that pleas reply me a particular reason.

Big bang on the Web

N.SAICHAITANYA HYD, AP INDIA — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 08:50:24 GMT

THIS IS CHAITANYA. IAM SO INTRASTED IN THIS BIGBANG.

Big bang on the Web

Hoz in Metro Detroit, MI — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:22:34 GMT

No matter what this experiment brings forth, God will always be at the root and the truth of our existence. The God-complex of today's scientists begs for God's mercy. If I were you, I'd be mindful of it and of what you are asking to learn.

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Matthew 'Floyd' Clough, Stockbridge, Georgia — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:40:57 GMT

Been keeping up as much as I can on my casual/school related blog. It's very exciting to see all of this come to fruition.

I wonder if they have a set time table for beam calibration?

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Robert M., Columbus, Ohio — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 17:33:50 GMT

Isn't it great that world can spend 10 billion dollars on a scientific toy so some theorists can say; "See, we told you so." All, while millions of people face starvation and slow painful death. How wonderful.

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Cliff, Nome Alaska — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:37:14 GMT

LHC rocks! Idiots also thought that when the first atomic test happened that the atmosphere would catch on fire.

By the way, maybe I can find 10-20 lunatics that really believe in ghosts; have them write some fake garbage down about their belief, and get the next president to declare it the national religion! Maybe in 3000 years, they will call it "Bible" and everyone will worship ghosts... WOOOOOOOOO!

Religion is anti knowlege. People that believe in religion and denounce science shouldn't get the benefits of science. Medicine, hospitals, computers, nothing.

If JC was alive today do you think he would be happy with any religion out there? JC would be on the steps at CERN, teaching particle physics. He was a teacher, not a religious fanatic.

Big bang on the Web

Eric, Salinas, CA — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:48:21 GMT

What a pity that the republicans killed our Super Collider project. So sad that the cutting edge science is happening in Europe rather than here. I give kudos to the Europeans for getting into the LHC and fusion generators and follow their exploits with much interest.

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Jon Brooks, Cleveland Ohio — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:59:52 GMT

Maybe we were destroyed and this is just a black hole anomoly we are in? Perhaps collapsing into a point singularity takes an infinite amount of time beyond the event hoizon and the tidal forces between our head and feet aren't great enough to be noticed. Unfortunatley it means we will never escape this election cycle either.

Big bang on the Web

Tired Falseprophet — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:17:03 GMT

I am HONESTLY getting sick and tired of people bashing the ideas behind the LHC. Before you go spewing forth about the LHC producing planet gobbling black holes, do us all a favor and READ the research that has been conducted on this subject.

WHY did we build the LHC? Because we could. Because as human beings, we have an innate desire to understand ourselves and the world we live in. There will be medical advances, propulsion advances, technology advances that arise out of these experiments. This is no more a doomsday machine than that PC you are all so grateful for when being allowed to post your thoughts on Alan's blog. These types of experiments have been conducted MANY times in the past. This machine brings us that little bit closer to that unattainable speed of light.

PLEASE do some reading and research before you go around bashing what could be one of the most important experiments since Fleming discovered penicillin.

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mourad,jijel,dza — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:42:44 GMT

Black holes are too harsh for human flesh!!!

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Sam, Denver CO — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:46:24 GMT

It must feel fantastic that so many people that all of their "scientific" answers come from a book (really a series of separate stories) written by people that had only just discovered how to fashion iron into weapons. The mental capacity of those alive at the time could not even conceive the atom, let alone be capable of formulating a method to determine the structure of one.

The answer is so simple to the simpleton. God did it, case closed.

Ask any one of them to prove the existence of their deity and they'll devolve into posting links to AiG. They won't go any further to find the much better answers that debunk the claims of AiG on every front. Ask them to disprove any of the fictional characters of which the human mind has conceived and they fall flat.

Here we stand on the edge of a pecipice. Do we build that bridge to understanding (the LHC and all of its future progeny)? Do we have the daring to walk that bridge once we turn it on to find out what is on the other side? Do we have the intellect to interpret the results? Do we have the guts to cut away the deific safety net we built long ago to catch us when we fall on that road to understanding and to cease its capacity to ensnare us and impede our ability to move forward?

A "microscopic" black hole is a misnomer and that we're really talking about something at the size of quarks, which no microscope can see. We can only imagine that which we cannot bounce an electron off of. We hurl atoms together like clocks to smash them together and study the debris, hoping to see something unusual that we haven't seen before and maybe spot something we have predicted but have never had an instrument capable of detecting (and maybe never will). We can't even take such a clumsy baby step toward understanding (in the grandest scheme of things) without apocalyptic naysayers appearing from all quarters to spout rhetoric.

The beginning of the path of science is the question. As far as that goes, the deeply religious will always be as unscientific as human kind can get. They don't question, they believe they already have the answers.

Big bang on the Web

B Huntington, Meridian, Idaho — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 21:01:14 GMT

Dear Eric High of Houston Texas,
The thing hasn't even 'collided' yet. There is only speculation on what will occur. Even Steven Hawking doesn't really 'endorse' this effort, and hasn't for approximately 10 years! If what I've read is correct.
Perhaps creation/creator who holds ALL of the keys btw, is looking upon this as a group of preschoolers graduating from Tinker Toys to Legos.
Wouldn't it be a refreshingly different world if the genius and mega wealth posessed by the relatively few could be concentrated on efforts that the "God Particle" suggested nearly 2000 years ago?
For some reason, 'they' are bent to use this wealth and genius to "create" the things which "nature abhors". May I facetiously suggest the it be renamed [rd] The Ha__on Collidor.

Big bang on the Web

Tired Falseprophet — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 21:31:10 GMT

No one is denouncing religion as far as I can see. I have no problem with people believing whatever hey want. What I take issue with is people discounting science for their religion. The inverse is true as well. I also take issue with people who feel in necessary to deride other peoples' comments and beliefs. this should be an educational discussion forum, not a "See how clever I am because I know more then you" or a "God created everything so you're all going to burn" forum. ALL ideas and thoughts should be welcome here and NOT ridiculed. Act like adults please.

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j9 — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 21:32:11 GMT

OK, silly question here... What is a "hadron" and what makes it large?

[ALAN ADDS: We do have a little guide that goes into this subject. Check this out:]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26320396/

Big bang on the Web

Rick, New Orleans, LA — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 21:42:15 GMT

The LHC will not create energy, matter, or (especially) LIFE. It will create conditions similar to those of the 'Big Bang'.

Yes scientists are smart and many of them believe in God. The ones who do (a lot of them) are searching for God. Your God may not want you to find Him/Her/It but mine does. Your God, you say, is everywhere, everything, everywhen so if we look hard enough and deep enough we will find him even if you don't want us to. To keep someone from finding God goes against the very religion you hold dear (hypocrisy anyone?). I can't help getting angry at small minds and tiny hearts as I don't have God's infinite patience.

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Thomas Ashby, Calgary — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 22:58:43 GMT

It's a real bang-up job !

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David P. Hernandez, Stockton, CA — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 07:02:01 GMT

From the look of things it sounds like you guys have everything under control, but I can't help but wonder if there is any practical use for this. Then again splitting the atom wasn't really for the good of mankind either. I suppose you are very excited, I mean I would be to. Just don't forget about the rest of us. DON'T MESS UP!

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Shashikant — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 07:46:19 GMT

Dear Sir,

I am impressed by reading News on Nuclear.

Shashikant
Delhi, (India)

Big bang on the Web

Joe Curto, Belvidere, NJ — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 12:44:20 GMT

And here we have another piece of evidence to suggest that America is now a second-rate power in the educational field. While we waste our money on wars of no reason and meddle in the affairs of other countries, CERN has had the farsightedness to build and execute their super collider, while ours lies dormant and unfinished due to lack of Congressional funding. Kudos to CERN and all involved.

Big bang on the Web

Tim Rommes, Washington, UT — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 12:45:28 GMT

Damon,
I guess your logic would make sense if you knew what you were talking about. Obviously, you think you know what you're talking about so you think your logic makes sense. They're not even trying to create life or anything. They destroy stuff for a living. It's an atom ... wait for it ... smasher. They're just trying to look inside.
Wagar Ahmed,
There are no particular reasons. This is pure science, it's not an effort to cure cancer, clean up the environment, improve crop yield, build a better bomb, ... , but it may contribute to any of those. My favorite idea is that it will help someone understand the forces that hold things together and they'll develop some kind of beam that resonates green house gasses till they break up. Like a glass in front of a speaker. But that's not any more forseeable than anything else from this experiment. It's simply to improve our knowledge. The worst case is we know something we can't use for any good.
Cliff,
It was actually the geniuses who thought the atmosphere might burn. How many idiots do you think even knew about the program?

Big bang on the Web

Ryan, Rochester, NY — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:05:44 GMT

I do have to agree with cliff and sam on this one. I'm usually not one to bash religions. I myself think religion is the biggest crock on this planet. Although I don't discount it's importance in our planet's history, I think it silly to beleive in such a ridiculous idea. Kind of like beleiving that the LHC will produce black holes. It's easy to say you beleive in something that you really cant prove either way. Try saying that you dont beleive in evolution, and you will look like an ignorant fool. There are so many fossils and so much evidence that supports evolution, you can not discredit it. As this pertains to the LHC, these scientists are very, very smart people. It's possible that some of us have never even met a person that is as smart as some of these people. They are extremely confident that they have an idea of the conditions that are needed to re-create the big bang. These ideas are from decades of research, not the blabbings of a misled child. Yes MISLED(think about it, what else is an unmarried pregnant woman going to say around the time of Jesus? "it's the son of God!" ha) between death and sticking with this lie, I would chose life also. Can't blame her.

Big bang on the Web

Larry-rae slot , Chilliwack , BC . — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 15:30:57 GMT

A GREAT EVENT FOR MAN .
A OUTSTANDING ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR MANKIND .
LARRY-RAE SLOT .

Big bang on the Web

Kalista, Edmonton — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 18:24:46 GMT

My name is Kalista. I am currently in grade 12, and have only recently heard of this machine. Why was this thing created? A one thing I can think of is to learn about how the world was created. Of course, this is from only some people's perspective. What about those who believe God created the earth? If we actually discover that all life was made by a bunch of particles just running into each other, we will still have chaos. Not because of any black hole, but how many lives, dreams, and beliefs have you DESTROYED? The hope of many will come crashing down. These people will have nothing to believe in, and what will they turn to? Some may be ok, but others may be so traumatized, and start rampages, suicides, killings, and raiding. You still have time to stop. Some things are better left unknown, to preserve good, or whats left of it in this world.
Thank you all for your time in reading this,and I am truly sorry if you think this was a waste of your time.

Big bang on the Web

Sam, Denver CO — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 22:47:46 GMT

Kalista,

I am an atheist and I know many atheists. I can assure you that we do not rampage, kill, "raid" or commit suicide (I am typing this message, after all) because of our lack of belief. As for the idea that people's lives would somehow be destroyed as a result of this research, I submit that it will likely be about as crushing to adults as the realization that Santa Claus does not exist is to children (they'll get over it). As an upside, all that time spent praying and going to church will be additional free time that can be spent doing something constructive.

You can rest assured that the results aren't likely to sway all that many people. The God of the gaps always has a place to hide out. Many enough speculate that their deities exist outside of the universe and are unobservable. By that idea, said deities do not interact with the universe in a measuarble way (which, in my book is the equivalent of not existing at all). Some have suggested he lives in our universe at the Planck scale (conveniently out of range for scientific observation).

I politely direct you to the story of Galileo, whom you should have heard of by grade 12. His, and the stories of many others, bear striking resemblance to the charges waged against the science of the LHC. His heresy contributed to our knowledge. He was right, the church was wrong. It wasn't the first or last time in history either. Two hundred years later a fellow by the name of Charles Darwin revealed some facts about biology that the church is still reeling from to this day.

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

Belief in all deities dies out eventually. If it didn't, we'd still be fearing the mighty wrath of Zeus. I don't see anyone waging wars, killing others, or committing suicide because they're so upset that Zeus doesn't exist. I could be wrong though. I'll go outside and find out, just in case. :)

Big bang on the Web

Jonathon, Everett, Washington — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 23:54:46 GMT

Kalista,

First of all, kudos to you for such an intelligent and coherent post. There are many others twice your age or more who seem to be incapable of such a feat.

In response, I have this to say. Understanding our world and how it works at a subatomic level could allow us to create more complex, beneficial advances in many forms of technology. There is much good that could possibly be achieved by research with this collider.

As for the religious ramifications, you have nothing to worry about. These experiments will not explain the origins of the universe. Even if they discover that all life was created by random particles, it will not answer the question of how those particles came to be, or why they came together in such a way. As long as there are still questions such as these, religion will endure. As will science.

Big bang on the Web

Miranda — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 00:51:25 GMT

I wonder if God would think this experiment shouldn't be done. Even in the Bible, there are many examples of miracles that were done. Faith isn't just believing what you're told. The thousands of people who were fed by only a couple of fish and loaves of bread could've been allowed to live in spite of their hunger or even just not feel their hunger anymore. The blind begger could've survived as such, but wanted to see. Moses was born in a time when baby boys were ordered to be killed in order to prevent the Messiah from surviving and later causing problems for the Kings and Pharoahs in power. His mother placed him in a basket and sent him down a river in the hope that he might somehow survive, as hopeless as that sounds. The Pharoah's own daughter found him and wanted to keep him and when a mother was needed to nurse him, Moses' own mother came and took care of him. And after Moses was grown, when God spoke to Moses to tell him to lead his people out of Egypt, he spoke to him through a burning bush. This bush was not burned up by the fire but when God first began to speak to Moses, he introduced himself, saying something like "I am the Lord, your God." God did not have to perform any miracles if it were not necessary for people to see to believe. Even the Bible refers to people who have seen and believe but blesses those who have not seen and still believe. We live in that time. I'm not sure God would have a problem with this experiment, even if the scientists are trying to find out if there is a God. I think God knows people sometimes want to see or learn. They want some proof. I don't really think this will do it one way or the other, but my faith is real. I have no problem with someone wanting to prove it or disprove it. The only thing I'm concerned about is the possibility of miscalculations. The first day, what they thought would take all day, only took one hour. Can they be so sure of their conclusion that there will be no black holes or other serious problems?

Big bang on the Web

Tim Rommes, Washington, UT — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 06:26:17 GMT

Jonathan wrote, "Kalista,
First of all, kudos to you for such an intelligent and coherent post." Ya, she's from Canada.
Miranda,
The startup procedure involved injecting a beam and sending it around sector by sector. So you go one sector, see what happened, fix problems. Then go two sectors, see what happened, fix problems. Then go three sectors, see what happened, fix problems. Kind of like shooting a laser pointer all around your house using mirrors. Aim it at the first mirror, see where it goes, adjust the first mirror so it hits the second mirror, see where it goes from there, adjust the second mirror so it hits the third mirror, ... Except you can do all that with the pointer on the whole time. If I set up to do this at home I'd automatically expect that when I placed the mirrors they were not aimed right and would need adjusting. The CERN team expected problems and anticipated needing time to fix them. It went fast because they didn't have the expected problems. You're worried about future problems based on miscalculations because there calculations were so good they had less than expected problems? Do you worry that you'll get into a crash because you made it through the first stoplight?

Big bang on the Web

kristijan petrovic,leicester,united kingdom — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 23:04:51 GMT

[...] what happens if anthing goes wrong?can you stop it?and why now have you come with this idea why havent you come few years before?

and are you sure that the black holes cant get bigger?also are you 100%sure that the planet wont be in peaces cuz if you think we are over billions of lives will be killed just because of this thing you existed

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Divine Kodzo Gadogbe, Accra, Ghana, West Africa. — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 02:11:55 GMT

I'm realy waiting to see the end of the 'SHOW' I'm a christian and believe in God's creation, but wait a minute lets see what happens, may be I will change my mind.

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hiotesh,vij ,kerala — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 11:34:20 GMT

its veryy exiting hope for success

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Nicole: Boynton Beach, FL — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:34:15 GMT

WOW! Anybody read Dan Brown recently?
SiFi = ScienceFiction
ScienceFiction - Fiction = Science

That's pretty damn cool to me!

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nanthakumar — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:29:29 GMT

not a sceintist but optimist.the mini black hole could bring an opposite reaction,it may blow the earth away from its orbit.

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Joy McMahon>Daytona Beach, Fl — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:32:53 GMT

On Sept.13,2008 about 7:10pm There suddenly appeared
From a central point on the Atlantic Ocean Horizon Gigantic "Fan" of Semitrical "Rays" which were visible for at least 30 minutes. I took snapshots of them and have to place the pictures together to begin to show their astronomical scope and still didn't show them all, . NASA can't explain them to me. Could they have anything to do with your explosion on 9-10-08 ? Or the Star that our newspaper reported 9=19=08 was Born that week ???Is there anyone there I could speak with about this phenomena ? OR SHOW MY PICTURES TO ? This is my first visit to your Facinating WEB site .