This is funny…I just finished Stephen Hawkings’ Universe in a Nutshell where he mentions the LEC at the end. About 2 minutes ago, I looked it up on Wikipedia to find out when it opens and saw that it opens this month. I came on here to start a thread about it…and the first thread I see is one that was already made.
This may be a bit off topic but when I first read the title of the thread, I thought it said, “Large Hardon Collider” 
well. a black hole eh?will that happen before or after the easter bunny crawls out of the lhc?funny how so many people can jump on the black hole band wagon( i was on)when they are not yet factual entities. my daughter was the straw that convinced me that all will be fine. there has not been a black hole sigthed since…hmm, cant seem to recall. there is a clear present danger. in my under achieving under educated opinion, i think the biggest likely threat is an EMP or several variable ray/burst emmisions result from splitting atoms, is it not a similar enough action to consider?
What’s really funny to me is how the people who built LHC have devoted their lives to the understanding of quantum and particle physics, and yet every dumb-ass with a connection to the internet thinks he can override all those years of accredited research and knowledge on the grounds of pure speculation.
Seriously, start an LHC thread anywhere on the internet and be amused by all the nay-saying that pours in from soccer moms and 15 year-olds. It’s great.
Now the doomsayer’s are threatening members of the project.
Humorous aside:
A comment on one of the news article ‘forums’ stated; “I think it’s just there to play Crysis 2 max settings”. LOL!!!
How is the project comming? They mentioned May 08 in the start of this thread, what happened?
The last news I read said they are essentially “turning it on” today and testing the first collision in late October.
The last news I read said they are essentially “turning it on” today and testing the first collision in late October.
I assume the particles involved all have a full complement of airbags, anti-lock brakes and designated crumple zones, right? I mean, this is all designed to make a safer particle that can survive catastrophic quantum-traffic accidents, right? 
Edited for typos
For quick tabs on the status of the Earth with respect to the LHC, this site has been set up to notify you if the LHC has destroyed the earth.
Note: humor
For quick tabs on the status of the Earth with respect to the LHC, this site has been set up to notify you if the LHC has destroyed the earth.
Note: humor
Well, I checked the site and whew! I was soooooo relieved to discover that the Earth has not been destroyed. I was really, really worried…
:lol:
The Higgs-Boson is like the ‘cool kid’ of sub-atomic particles. Everyone gains popularity - or mass - by being around him; mass by association.
What’s really funny to me is how the people who built LHC have devoted their lives to the understanding of quantum and particle physics, and yet every dumb-ass with a connection to the internet thinks he can override all those years of accredited research and knowledge on the grounds of pure speculation.
Seriously, start an LHC thread anywhere on the internet and be amused by all the nay-saying that pours in from soccer moms and 15 year-olds. It’s great.
I think this is signifying a growing “anti-science” mentality amongst the masses (with it’s philosophical roots in an anti-reason mentality of course). I know how much of a broad generalization that is… but it’s one of those things I know you have observed and others on this forum as well. I could comment in depth about it, but I haven’t really intellectually explored it enough to provide clear comments yet. One of the main factors is the total abandonment of teaching science in America. Science is becoming a subject where only a group of social outcasts seem capable of enjoying…
And that’s enough musing on my part.
Why is there so much fear instead of reverence of this thing? I admit, I don’t know much about physics so my interest in this project isn’t so much about the pure physics. It’s about the advancement of science as a whole and proof that large capital-intensive projects can be created like this. I’d love to see more investment going to “huge science machines.” The investment is worth it, and the benefits to mankind could be plentiful. I hope the LHC proves this on some levels.
Also, RB I LOL’d at the Crysis 2 comment.
A small, local pape ran a headline, on page 6, saying “Physics Experiment Destroys The World.” The note beneath starts “If you’re reading this, then nothing untoward actually took place.”
Yes, I think they were trying to be funny.
Here’s this for an educational laugh, from a recent entry in the Straight Dope:
Imagine a convention hall filled with political groupies, a scary thought all by itself. The hall represents the universe; the groupies represent the Higgs field. Now suppose Barack Obama enters the room. … Obama represents a subatomic particle. The political groupies cluster around the president, seeking to bask in his cool and possibly get a job at the State Department. As Obama tries to make his way through the room, he gathers new hangers-on, while others drop off due to embarrassing questions about unpaid taxes. The cluster of groupies hovering around Obama represents the mass the president gains while he’s in the Higgs field.
Now let’s take the same roomful of groupies and suppose a rumor passes through the room, such as that the government is going to speed up the economic stimulus program by heaving buckets of money out the window. As the rumor spreads, the groupies cluster together — some in stationary huddles, others in roving bands. Just as the clustered groupies gave mass to Obama when he was on the scene, they also give mass to themselves. Each cluster constitutes a God particle, which can thus be said to arise, if you will, “whenever two or more of you are gathered in His name."
Heh 
The uncapitalised ‘p’ in president, contrasted to other words’ first letters being capitalised, is also telling.
JJM
It reopens today. Check out the webcam
It reopens today. Check out the webcam
Haha! That’s great! Sending this to my physics and calc profs.