Black Holes & Revelations

The CERN LHC (Large Hadron Collider) was launched on September 10th. And while the significance of this event can't quite match other scientific events, such as Darwin's theory of evolution (no longer a theory, since there is literally scientific evidence of it, I'm looking at you creationists!) or Copernicus's conclusion that the Earth revolves around the sun and not the other way around (also no longer a theory, since Newton and Kepler's observations agree with it, I'm looking at you 15th-16th Century Religious zealots!), it's still quite a feat considering the possible consequences of launching sub-atomic particles at ridiculously high speeds.

Besides the new doors opening into further topics of investigation regarding sub-atomic physics and the idea of anti-matter, we have the opportunity to get some other awesome findings. Like what mass really is. Sure, we've got the kilogram as our standard measure of mass. But what is it really? Obviously, if we don't know what it exactly is, then we're not putting enough money into it...or energy...or speed. Which is why I have to applaud the scientists at CERN for thinking out the box. From what I've heard (unverifiable observations), speed does actually result in its users being able to "feel mass", in addition to "taste colors".

But of course, the coolest part of the CERN project is the dangers. Physics would never be exciting without the possibility of something blowing up, or someone getting eviscerated (either by experiment or religious zealots). It is said that when the two hadrons travelling at 99.9999999% speed of light collide, micro black holes can form, sucking up all of the planet in its singular infinite mass, causing the planet to implode. Way cool. Equally awesome is the possibility of strangelets being formed, which could possibly cause a chain reaction of epic proportions with the capability of blowing up Europe and the rest of the world with it.

And like all other scientific endeavors, there is always a group of individuals attempting to resist and hinder development. Unlike our ancestors, gone away is the reliance on a blade or a haystack and torch to meet their aims; opting for the other type of blood...green blood. Yes, some doomsayers are relying on lawsuits to bleed the CERN LHC Project dry. A lofty aim, but one that is unlikely to win, since even if these strangelets and micro black holes formed, they would more than likely (about 99.999999%) evaportate and disappear, leaving nothing but a modest amount of energy signature.

Personally, the world isn't going to end, and chances are on October 21st, when the first true collision is scheduled to occur, the world will keep spinning, and the only excited people will be the 7000-odd scientists working on the project. And the 7 others who'll breathe a sigh of relief to see that the world hasn't imploded quite yet.