We're Doomed

[Dyne]

Originally Posted by KillerGremlin

We NEED to perform this experiment.

Wow, and to think that people are afraid of religious nuts.

[KillerGremlin]

Originally Posted by Dyne

Wow, and to think that people are afraid of religious nuts.

I'm sure that was a light-hearted jab. Nevertheless, the Large Hadron Collider aims to answer some very important questions regarding Particle Physics. These large particle accelerators are not cheap. The reason I say that we "NEED" to perform this experiment is because we built the LHC. You might ask, why did we build the LHC? Because the particle accelerator at Fermilab just wasn't big enough to find the missing particle they are looking for. The LHC is, from what I have been told, the last shot at finding the Higgs boson. If we find the Higgs boson I assume we will have made great leaps forward regarding physics. If we find out that there is no Higgs boson, it is my understanding that many of the upstanding Physics theories will fall apart. There are thousands of brilliant minds exhausting hours of education and research on the current models and theories that we have. I would like to see scientists make forward progress on the subject of physics, especially in my lifetime.

"Religious nuts" go to extremes often hiding behind a belief that cannot be disproved. Faith is just that, a belief in something outside of the ordinary, outside of the testable. I have faith, but I'm not going to use my faith to hate homosexuals or discriminate against women or carry out acts of terrorism.

The LHC is not the first particle accelerator. While there is certainly inherent risk in performing these experiments the LHC marks the next and presumably final evelotuion in testing the validity of the existence of the Higgs boson.

It's like our generations Galileo or Newton or Einstein.

Originally Posted by Jason1

Oh yes yes of course this is terrible, anything that might discredit creationism is obviously the devil itself and should be stopped at all costs!

Particle physics hardly discredits creationism.

[KillerGremlin]

Dyne:

One more thing. I'm not smart enough to advance up the physics scale past basic Newtonian Mechanics and some Electricity stuff. However, all the Physics teachers that I have had have made one observation:

The current models and theories we have about our universe are untestable. We cannot really test the Big Bang nor can we really test how big our universe is. We can't really test what happens at a Black Holes event horizon. Most of our current theories on the universe are based on mathematical and computer models. Long gone are the days when Isaac Newton could see an object falling and apply mathematical quantification to that object (gravity!).

Do you know how we know if a star has a planet orbiting it? By looking at the star's wobble, variations in the light coming form the star, and the effects of observable gravity on the system. Since planets cannot emit light we don't know for sure if there is a planet there, we just assume. That is one example of the ambiguity of analyzing our universe.

I consider these particle accelerators to be a rare opportunity; a way to test a standing theory describing the universe around us. Take it or leave it, but I think it is a cool step forward.

Progress is progress. If we get sucked into a black hole it will be one cool way to end our existence.



And on a side note, I wish Neo was here because I know he is the forum's physics guy.

[Jason1]

Oh yes yes of course this is terrible, anything that might discredit creationism is obviously the devil itself and should be stopped at all costs!

[manasecret]

Heard they're not going to be colliding protons for a month or so.

*YAWN* Wake me up when the world is about to end.

[Jason1]

This will probably open up a portal to Zen releasing the Vortigaunts. Hopefully Freeman can save us.

[Combine 017]

Originally Posted by Jason1

This will probably open up a portal to Zen releasing the Vortigaunts. Hopefully Freeman can save us.

I already said that. Kind of.