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Why the LHC Won't Destroy the World

An anonymous reader writes "Most people are aware of the recent articles contending that the Large Hadron Collider at CERN might destroy the world. While most scientists have no such concerns, a recent preprint released to arxiv systematically dismantles the notion. The gist of the argument is this: Everything that will be created at the LHC is already being created by cosmic rays. If a black hole created by the LHC is interactive enough to destroy the world within the lifetime of the sun, similar black holes are already being created by cosmic rays. Such black holes would be stopped by dense cosmic objects (neutron stars and white dwarfs). A black hole stopped in one of these objects would eventually absorb it. We see sufficiently old neutron stars in the sky, thus any black hole that could be created at the LHC, even if it is stable, would have no effect on the earth on any meaningful timescale."

3 of 508 comments (clear)

  1. /. Geeks and... by WED+Fan · · Score: 0, Troll

    ...if you follow standard insertion procedure...

    Look, you are reading /., what do you know about "standard insertion procedure(s)"? You may understand the principles from your cyber-whatever and your Sims experience, but really, seducing your virtual girlfriend does not qualify you as an insertion expert.

    --
    Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong fix.
  2. Re:Hang on a minute by ScentCone · · Score: 0, Troll

    *cue redneck throwing a firecracker into the path of the particle stream*

    Right, because Yuppie Spawn never do anything foolish, and liberal arts majors are famous for their grasp on the laws of physics. I will check to be sure, but no doubt you're right that there have never been any sophisticated, urbane New Englanders who - through idiocy and a lack of understanding the consequences of how they're handling a physical object, like, say, an automobile - have every run into any trouble that way. Only 'rednecks.' Well, and Ted Kennedy, of course. But he only killed someone, and that's different.

    --
    Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
  3. Re:You Might be a Redneck... by ScentCone · · Score: 0, Troll

    Or are you trying to use redneck in a different context

    I'm defending the rednecks in the sense that they are frequently defined, here. To wit, "people who run farms." Or, "the guy that actually knows how to fix your transmission - which you couldn't do without years of training - but who also likes simple beer instead of Fancy Pants micro-brews." Or, "the person who made it possible for you to have dairy products this week." Or, "anyone from south of the Mason-Dixon Line," etc.

    Of course, the term is most often used, here, to mean "white," and "not a Democrat," and "doesn't write software for a living."

    --
    Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.