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Another Way the LHC Could Self-Destruct

KentuckyFC writes "Just when you thought it was safe to switch on the LHC (though it won't be for a while yet), another nightmare scenario has emerged that some critics worry could cause the particle accelerator to explode. The culprit this time is not an Earth-swallowing black hole but a 'Bose supernova' in the accelerator's superfluid helium bath. Physicists have been playing with Bose Einstein Condensate (BECs) for over 10 years now. But in 2001, one group discovered that placing them in a powerful magnetic field could cause the attractive forces between atoms to become repulsive. That caused their BEC to explode in a Bose supernova — which they called a 'Bosenova,' a name that fortunately did not catch on. This was little more than a curiosity when only a microscopic blob of cold matter was involved. But superfluid liquid helium is also BEC. And physicists have suddenly remembered that the LHC is swimming in 700,000 liters of the stuff while being zapped by some of the most powerful magnetic fields on the planet. So is the LHC a Bose supernova waiting to go off? Not according to the CERN theory division, which has published its calculations that show the LHC is safe (abstract). They also point out that no other superfluid helium handling facility has mysteriously blown itself to pieces."

12 of 367 comments (clear)

  1. let me assure you... by Digitus1337 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Let me assure you, there is nothing to be worried about. I'm watching a couple of guys fiddle with some of the magnets right now and they assure me that nothing can go wro

    1. Re:let me assure you... by RDW · · Score: 5, Funny

      You had me going there for a moment, but I just checked the webcams and everything seems fine:

      http://www.cyriak.co.uk/lhc/lhc-webcams.html

    2. Re:let me assure you... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      While the LHC might be perfectly safe, the LHC I'm building in my basement will be extremely volatile.

      Dubbed the Large Hatred Collider, its function is to see what happens when enraged 'haters' are collided at speed.

      First into the test chamber are a Daily Mail reader (who is also a confirmed supporter of the BNP) and an enraged Digg user, who's just discovered that not everybody likes Macintosh compters as much as he does.

      It is expected that the two will cancel each other out when they collide. What is unknown is how much energy will be released when this happens. Does anyone on Slashdot have an equation for this?

    3. Re:let me assure you... by Sasayaki · · Score: 5, Funny

      e=mc^2

      Where e = energy, m = the marketing power of Apple Corp. and c = the certainty of Apple fanboys exploding in a fiery rage whenever their platform choice is called into question.

      In short- a hell of a lot.

      --
      Check out my sci-fi book "Lacuna" at http://goo.gl/MVxX8
  2. This is easy by SamMichaels · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does this mean we can just blame it on the Bosenova?

  3. LHC Joke of the Day! by CorporateSuit · · Score: 5, Funny

    Q: What's funnier than running the world's largest particle collider while the janitor is inside, cleaning the pipes?

    A: Nothing

    --
    I am the richest astronaut ever to win the superbowl.
  4. Re:More Cassandra warnings... by David+Gerard · · Score: 5, Funny

    The problem is that the LHC has caused the production of strange moron particles, which seem to bump into normal people and turn them into more strange morons. The collective outgassing of stupidity causes a supernova brain implosion.

    --
    http://rocknerd.co.uk
  5. Re:Phase change by Profane+MuthaFucka · · Score: 5, Funny

    Or it could split the planet wide open if the uninformed hyperbole gets to hot and detonates.

    --
    Fascism trolls keeping me up every night. When I starts a preachin', he HITS ME WITH HIS REICH!
  6. I'm from a small town by ceoyoyo · · Score: 5, Funny

    and we used to blow stuff up for fun when I was a kid. Now I work in an MRI research lab.

    This sounds like something I need to try tomorrow.

  7. Re:That would be bad by camperdave · · Score: 5, Funny

    Okay! Important Safety Tip. Don't cross the Streams.

    --
    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  8. Trust Top Geeks by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm sure glad there's more certainty in economic and finance theory than physics; otherwise banks would be ....... we're fucked

  9. Re:Phase change by jcwayne · · Score: 5, Funny

    And now we finally know how the ancient Atlantians created the moon and killed off the dinosaurs all at once.

    --
    Failure to follow this advice may result in non-deterministic behavior.