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To: Cboldt

MUCH APPRECIATE YOUR CLARIFICATIONS.

I forget how old I was . . . probably BA university 1965-1969. The prof asked something about this and I noted the bit about the earth would have to begin to rotate around the infinite mass or some such.

The prof was quite surprised at my answer and with a smile on his face, said that was right.

So, that’s the background of that curiosity of mine.

Has long been a bit of a curiosity and puzzle to me with regard to the collider in Europe.


51 posted on 03/31/2010 9:21:07 AM PDT by Quix (BLOKES who got us where we R: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2130557/posts?page=81#81)
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To: Quix
-- I noted the bit about the earth would have to begin to rotate around the infinite mass or some such. --

The issue though, is getting the "infinite mass" in the first place. There being no such thing as a free lunch, it basically takes infinite energy to get infinite mass; and the reverse is true as well. So, the only amount of "mass" that going to be available at CERN is that mass "created" by applying whatever energy they consume. And using E=mc^2, a whole lot of energy doesn't equal much mass at all.

However much energy these guys are using in say half an hour, to get a packet of 20 billion protons up to speed, is basically increasing the mass (at that location) to at most, a quarter of a microgram per half hour. And once the collision is done, the mass/energy storage is gone too.

Think of it as the reverse of an atom bomb, where mass is changed, quickly, to energy. Play that backwards to get an increase in mass (maybe a few grams), and you'll see that CERN has no chance of getting remotely close to the "point of infinite mass" situation.

52 posted on 03/31/2010 9:30:43 AM PDT by Cboldt
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