Engineers and scientists conducted the first tests of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) this morning, opening a new window on subatomic reality that may lead to observations of the Higgs deiton, dark matter, and all sorts of apocalyptic thangs. Physicists have gotten really good at predicting what will happen to matter under most conditions but, once they get the LHC fully functionaly, they will be able to assess how well their model applies under never-before-observed conditions. Will they be able to observe tiny blackholes? Can they reproduce the conditions at the time of the Big Bang?
Of course, there are folks who say the scientists are playing God or will create conditions that will catapult Earth into a different universe. More examples of the failure of our education system…sigh.
Here’s a lighter view from alpinekat (K. McAlpine) that actually is informative.
Link to the official Web site at CERN
