14 years and $10 billion later ($30 billion less than what China expended on the Olympic Games), the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) got its start switch hit today and so begins a new age in scientific exploration and achievment. However, it will take a good year for the LHC to reach its maximum power capability.
Scientists at Europe’s CERN HQ are excited at the prospects of diving head-long into areas of physics, that less than a decade ago were only theories and equations on a chalk board. Now with the first firing up of the LHC, these and future generations of quantum physicists will be able to work first-hand on what was once only in the minds of Albert Einstein, Max Planck, Stephen Hawking and other great leaders of science. past and current.
Some of those areas of research will include the exploration of dark matter, anitmatter, the possiblity of alternate universes, parallel universes and different dimensions of space/time.
Sitting in the CERN center located in Geneva, Switzerland was an array of scientists, political dignitaries from across the globe and journalists who spent several hours anxiously awaiting the flip of the switch. All went without a hitch and now the real business of research can begin.
“Today is a great day for CERN,” the organization’s director general, Robert Aymar, told the gathering and control room staff.
As the beam was aligned along its 100-meter deep, 17-mile long tunnel constant checks were made to ensure safety and all was going well. A round of roaring applause echoed in the room when the head of operations gave the thumbs up at the completion of the beams first full clockwise run of the tunnel. The beam’s trip, from preliminary check to the end of its run, took about an hour total. Once completed then the beam was successfully sent in the opposite direction. The big day will occur sometime next month (or later) when two beams will be sent in opposite directions, meeting in a collision that, hopefully, will mock — on an infinitesimally smaller scale — a mini-big bang, the event most theorize was the cause of and beginning of our universe. Some of the other things that could occur would be the creation of harmless, atom-sized black holes that could be studied in a way not currently possible.
“It’s a fantastic moment,” Lyn Evans, the project leader for the Large Hadron Collider, said once the beam had completed its circuit. “We can now look forward to a new era of understanding about the origins and evolution of the universe.â€
Jack says
wow this is interesting :D.
Sam Sloan says
Today was a landmark day for science. We began a new intellectual journey that will open up limitless doors of opportunity for research, new discoveries about our universe, and quite likely ourselves as well. Some of those all-important questions may finally be answered…..how did this universe that we take for granted come into existence..not who made it happen, but how did it happen. The WHO is the privy of the religious…the HOW is the domain of science, as it should be. Are there parallel worlds? Will we be able to harness the power of antimatter as an energy source? Exactly what is the real function(s) of a black hole, what is its power source? How long, after its creation, does a black hole exist. How much matter and energy does one need to sustain itself? Each and everyone of these questions, and countless more, are extremely important for the continuation of our species because until we become able to harness the power that is unleashed in an event like a big bang, we will forever be in the debt of this one planet. When it goes….we as a species go with it. Our very survival could hinge on what new discoveries will be revealed from what was begun here today in Geneva, Switzerland. It is truly a monumental thing and I am so grateful to be living in this time.
Skiznot says
I get the same sort of chills (the good tingly kind) I would get if we launched a manned mission to the outer planets. I try hard to wrap my head around the particle science to get a tiny hind of the significance of the LHC. If I understand correctly the discovery of the Higgs-boson particle will explain why things have mass. Such fundamental understanding of subatomic structure can open so many doors of understanding, and with that so many more questions. This is more than just a big expensive experiment; this is the exploration of a frontier that contains the answers to some of the most fundamental questions about ourselfs. In other words: coooooooooooooooooooooooool. GO LHC!
kidcapone says
one word. STRINGLETTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!