The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is ready for it's debut. Physicists at CERN will fire up the latest and most bad-ass particle accelerator ever constructed tomorrow. It's purpose is to smash sub-atomic stuff together to recreate the matter and conditions present in the universe immediately following the Big Bang. Everyone in the physical sciences is waiting with baited breath to find out what will happen. Will they find the Higgs boson? (Stephen Hawking bets 'no' - but he's lost similar bets before.) Will a tiny black hole be formed that will engulf us all? A few people - some more balanced than others - allow for the possibility.
Personally, I think that with media assembled and the world watching, the guy in charge of this $8 Billion flashlight will suddenly turn in his chair, don a cape, and declare, "Now watch the power of this fully armed and operational battle station!"
Whatever happens, the LHC is an engineering marvel. Individual components themselves are technological wonders.
Get information on watching the hoopla live here.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
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