Black Hole in Geneva ???

Discussion in 'Et Cetera, Et Cetera' started by D_O_Revoir, Sep 7, 2008.

  1. D_O_Revoir

    D_O_Revoir Account Disabled

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2007
    Messages:
    206
    Likes Received:
    1
    They are scheduled to start up the Large Hadron Collider on wednesday, september 10th. Anyone worried that it is going to destroy the entire solar system? May as well live out your dreams before then.

    -Z
     
    #1 D_O_Revoir, Sep 7, 2008
  2. Penis Aficionado

    Penis Aficionado
    Gold Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2007
    Messages:
    2,677
    Likes Received:
    678
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Austin (TX, US)
    All I know is that I asked a guy getting his PhD in physics about this, and he said not to worry about the black hole thing -- ain't gonna happen.
     
    #2 Penis Aficionado, Sep 7, 2008
  3. BallSukr

    BallSukr New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 30, 2008
    Messages:
    21
    Likes Received:
    1
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Anaheim, CA
    I'm thinking... not on Sep 10th.

    More like October 14th... or some other day when you are least expecting it. :)
     
    #3 BallSukr, Sep 7, 2008
  4. Domisoldo

    Domisoldo
    Gold Member

    Joined:
    Jan 23, 2008
    Messages:
    4,078
    Albums:
    1
    Likes Received:
    36
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Pacific Northwest
    Can we re-schedule? Some of the residents of the solar system have other commitments on that day.
     
    #4 Domisoldo, Sep 7, 2008
  5. Phil Ayesho

    Phil Ayesho
    Gold Member

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2008
    Messages:
    5,804
    Likes Received:
    1,272
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    San Diego
    Chances are they will not achieve anywhere near the energies needed... and they will ramp up energy over the next couple of years...
    Even so- they are ramming tiny teensy itty bitty bits of matter together. A black hole composed of just a handful of protons ( which immediately cease to be protons) would not persist.


    According to Hawking, such a black hole would literally evaporate before it could make it to the side wall of the detector.


    For a black hole to remain stable, like the one at the center of our galaxy... it needs to be rather large.


    Also- just to dispel any weird ideas... becoming a black hole does NOT affect mass., it affects density.

    IF the sun could somehow collapse into a black hole Without the huge explosion.... the orbit of the earth and other planets would not be affected in the least. The exact same gravitational pull...
     
    #5 Phil Ayesho, Sep 7, 2008
  6. jason_els

    jason_els <img border="0" src="/images/badges/gold_member.gi

    Joined:
    Dec 16, 2004
    Messages:
    10,572
    Likes Received:
    45
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Warwick, NY, USA
    Not to impugn the good doctor Hawking, but what if he's wrong? They're gambling with the lives of the entire planet. Granted the odds might be remote, but I'm not convinced the benefits outweigh the risks. I think the gnomes of CERN need a vastly better PR campaign.

    We'd just have no sun and freeze to death within hours. Sorry if I don't feel consoled.
     
    #6 jason_els, Sep 7, 2008
  7. SpeedoGuy

    SpeedoGuy
    Gold Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2004
    Messages:
    4,229
    Albums:
    1
    Likes Received:
    13
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Now I know where swiss cheese will really come from!
     
    #7 SpeedoGuy, Sep 7, 2008
  8. D_Fiona_Farvel

    D_Fiona_Farvel Account Disabled

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2007
    Messages:
    3,790
    Likes Received:
    19
    Yes, but you'd have eight glorious minutes of sunlight to prepare for the end. :biggrin1: This thread so needs a "what would you do with the last 8 minutes of your life" poll.
     
    #8 D_Fiona_Farvel, Sep 7, 2008
  9. Deno

    Deno
    Gold Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2006
    Messages:
    4,728
    Albums:
    1
    Likes Received:
    43
    I can tell ya I'd probably get one last good load off ! scramble a few atoms of my own.
     
    #9 Deno, Sep 7, 2008
  10. JustAsking

    JustAsking
    Gold Member

    Joined:
    Nov 23, 2004
    Messages:
    3,249
    Likes Received:
    6
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Ohio
    I hate it when that happens.
     
    #10 JustAsking, Sep 8, 2008
  11. Phil Ayesho

    Phil Ayesho
    Gold Member

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2008
    Messages:
    5,804
    Likes Received:
    1,272
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    San Diego
    I think its a pretty safe bet.
    People think of black holes the way they think of ninjas- a lot of stupid myth and hollywood malarky.

    Black holes are not special- they are simply ultradense objects.

    The same math that PREDICTED black holes, and turned out to be right on the money, also proves that quantum sized ones simply can not exist for more than a few nanoseconds.

    Ergo... the math that proved to us they were real, proves that they can not be a threat.


    Edward Teller, father of the hydrogen bomb, bet Robert Oppenheimer that the A bomb would set the atmosphere on fire.

    Oppenheimer looked at him sadly and took the bet... sure money because the atmosphere simply can not be set on fire.


    Quantum physics is the most accurately predictive theory humanity has ever come up with. ( evolution is the second )

    If you were gonna bet... you had better bet on the science that makes a computer out of sand and clay.
     
    #11 Phil Ayesho, Sep 8, 2008
  12. svin_renigoth

    svin_renigoth
    Verified Gold Member

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2008
    Messages:
    378
    Likes Received:
    13
    Gender:
    Male
    Verified:
    Photo
    I'm in agreement with everything Phil said above, especially the part about the large amount of myth associated with black holes.
     
    #12 svin_renigoth, Sep 8, 2008
Draft saved Draft deleted