Huge Atom-Smasher Set to Start Up Wednesday

FOXNews.com ^ | 8 Sept 2008 | Fox News

[COBOL2Java]

It has been called an Alice in Wonderland investigation into the makeup of the universe — or dangerous tampering with nature that could spell doomsday.

Whatever the case, the most powerful atom-smasher ever built comes online Wednesday, eagerly anticipated by scientists worldwide who have awaited this moment for two decades.

[avid]

That’s the one. Fascinated me when I was a kid.

[MeanWestTexan]

Oddly, this photo was spotted near the experiment site: 8The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. 10The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— 11the name of the star is Wormwood.[a] A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter. 12The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night. 13As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: "Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!" . . . The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. 2When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. 3And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. 4They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5They were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them. 7The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. 8Their hair was like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. 9They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. 10They had tails and stings like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. 11They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.[a] 12The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come.

[lump in the melting pot]

Heck yeah, light it up!! It's been nice knowin' y'all...

[battlecry]

I remember the scuttlebutt at the Francis Bitter National Magnet Lab at MIT a couple of decades ago was that a number of researchers working there ended up getting leukemia. Not unheard of in the field of high-energy physics.

[aquila48]

I say - smash away!!

[steve8714]

American students can’t get into grad school because they cannot read, spell, do simple arithmetic or think critically. Only fringies actually go for the 6000 year deal.
There is, however a larger question about the Hand of God in creation, a “design”, or blind chance.
Oddly, some of the same people extrapolating Darwin to all things cosmic are the same who built our current education mess, with the emphasis on sex rather than spelling.

[KarlInOhio]

or dangerous tampering with nature that could spell doomsday.

The world will end, this I know
for Art Bell has told me so.

[The Duke]

[ctdonath2]

Well, it’s been nice knowin’ all of ya!

[kAcknor]

This 'splains it all... The Large Hadron Rap

[Twinkie]

Fear not. This world is going to continue as in the days of Noah, marrying and giving in marriage, until the return of Christ. 24th Chapter of Matthew. I believe that a lot of the stuff in Revelation is figurative and has been in the process of gradually happening in catastrophic world events for two thousand years.

The super collider will fire up, and do its thing; but will do anything destructive only if it is God’s will. If so, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

Maranatha - even so, come, Lord Jesus.

[LibertyRocks]

I’ll readily admit that I don’t know much about the science behind this... It’s the one area of academia I can’t wrap my brain around, honestly. However, I do know that my cousin - a former particle beam accelerator operator at Fermi - is probably salivating at these pictures!!! LOL

That is one HECK of a machine! I certainly hope they know what they’re doing... I happen to like our planet, and living of course!

[LibertyRocks]

A VERY good reminder, Twinkie! Thanks. :-)

[mrmargaritaville]

I sense another “hold muh beer” moment coming on.

[LibertyRocks]

Excellent! Have shared it with my daughters who now probably understand more than I do about particle physics! (Just kidding, but that’s cool that they were able to explain it so easily... Nothing like the heavy discussions I’ve gotten headaches from at Thanksgiving dinners! LOL)

[jwparkerjr]

I wonder by what criteria they will decide if it works or not? Since it's so leading edge they could cover up a multitude of malfunctions, mis-funtions, nonfunctions with little trouble. Expect them say it worked flawlessly, so well in fact they decided to shut it down and study the early results before turning it up to warp speed.

Gosh I hate to be such a skeptic, but my nearly 70 years, 18 of them with Clinton in world, has done that to me.

[reagan_fanatic]

One of my favorite Star Trek episodes! (Also had some of the worst special effects in the series.)

[Toddsterpatriot]

Pure energy!

[Redleg Duke]

Figures. The Republicans finally get their stuff together, have the RATS on the ropes, and "POW!" the end of creation!

Swell! Just, Swell!

[ZeitgeistSurfer]

AP - The location of the first presidential debate has been changed to the Large Hadron Collider. McCain and Obama will be accelerated in opposite directions and collide. Scientists doubt if any wisdom particles will result.