Earth-Destroying Atom Smasher! Fact or Sci-Fi Channel Movie?

[Raffine]

 It's been called the largest scientific experiment in history, and may discover lots of cool science stuff like invisible matter or extra dimensions in space.

It also just might "spawn a black hole that could swallow Earth".

Or perhaps "spit out particles that could turn the planet into a hot dead clump".

We'll find out in August, when they flip the ON switch...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/06/30/doomsdaycollider.ap/index.html

I just hope they have Lou Diamond Phillips, John Schneider, or Lance Henriksen standing by just in case something goes awry.

[Jack]

Well that's just great.  I've got five DVD's ordered from Amazon, and I've been waiting three weeks for my new subwoofer and it just got shipped...and now they're going to make a black hole and destroy the planet? 

F*CK!!! 

[Patient7]

F!@#ing CERN, first they create antimatter which almost destroys Vatican City, now they're gunning for the entire planet.

[AndyC]

F!@#ing CERN, first they create antimatter which almost destroys Vatican City, now they're gunning for the entire planet.

Karma! Loved that book.

I heard a whole radio show about this a little while ago, and it sounded just as goofy then. Apparently, the same people filed suit for the same reasons last time somebody built the biggest atom smasher ever. I would guess they're either looking for money or publicity, but I suppose they could be serious.

The idea of micro black holes seems just wrong to me. I have no specific training in physics beyond high school, but it seems to me black holes get their gravity and their density from the tremendous amount of matter inside them. I can't see a microscopic one even existing, much less posing a threat, and I certainly don't think the LHC is powerful enough to create something that thus far only seems possible with the mass of a really large star. Again, I have no formal education in this field.

[Dave M]

I think it's a matter of density, how much mass there is packed into a small space.

[Mr_Vindictive]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=oTOdE6KunR4

Sadly, Gordon Freeman will not be around to save us all.

[AndyC]

I think it's a matter of density, how much mass there is packed into a small space.

Yeah, I agree that is probably the theory, but it can still only have as much gravity as the mass it contains, which can't be more than there was in the experiment. Yes, it might be supercompressed matter similar to a black hole (even that's a stretch), but its gravity is still virtually nil. And it can't stay in that state. A black hole is held together by the weight of a supergiant star that no longer puts out enough heat to support that weight.

I think the fallacy here is the idea that a black hole has some kind of super gravity. It has normal gravity for its mass. If the sun collapsed into a black hole, the solar system would continue to orbit as it always has. A black hole's gravity is the same as when it was a star. The reason the gravity of a black hole is so strong is that the event horizon is basically in the middle of where the old star was. The open space leading up to it used to be millions of miles of star, which is now concentrated at that location.

Again, this is just how I understand it. I don't claim to have any specific expertise.

[Ed, Ego and Superego]

If they destroy the Earth, I will definitely phone up and complain!
-Ed
Interviewer: Well, can you... blow up the world?
Tick: Egad. I hope not. That's where I keep all my stuff.

[frank]

Dang! I misread the title of this thread. Thought it would be "Earth destroyed by atom smasher! Fact of Sci-Fi channel Movie?"

That would have been an easy one...

Anyhow, I think AndyC is right. If you stuff two tiny particles together real tight, creating a mini-black hole, the "danger zone" is not considerably larger than the original two particles - tiny. Plus, any matter consisting of more than two particles, like cabin walls the experiment is conducted in, or the mountain above it, or Switzerland, or the earth cannot be affected, because the electromagnetic forces between the atoms are stronger than the gravity of two atoms (or particles).

Alas, it would be cool if anyone had his own customized black hole at home in the future, substituting trash cans and this little shredder US citizens have in their sinks. This would make us all equal again, as I have longed for such a device for too long now!

[Jack]

What they do with those atom smashers is to run atoms (or maybe just protons, I dunno) around in a circle until they've got them nearly to the speed of light.  One bunch of atoms goes clockwise, the other counterclockwise.  A cool relativistic effect takes place when you approach the speed of light, as if you're taking a baloon and pressing on it from both sides with your hands.  The back-to-front dimension gets smaller, while the diameter around the middle gets larger.  That makes it much easier to get the atoms to smash into each other.  When they do hit, they break apart into a whole bunch of cool little particles, like quarks and all sorts of other things.  They're actually coming up with a table akin to the periodic table of the elements to organize all these particles.  Like with elements, if there are a few items missing on the chart, you can predict their properties by looking at the other items around it.

Very cool stuff, but yeah, you're not going to create a black hole.  Not unless you've been watching too much Sci-Fi Channel while nippin' on the hard stuff