Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+ Large Hadron Collider

[flowergirlajg]

Why? o__O I don't quite grasp why it's important.

[Red Squirrel]

It's silly people who think the earth was created by accident, so they want to try to reproduce that accident for research.

Some people like to build a giant multi billion dollar machine to do research, others, like me, will turn to Genesis Chapter 1.

I do admit the LHC is kinda cool, but I don't think it's purpose is worth the trouble they went through to build it.

[Bookworm]

Is the LHC even working, or was it a different collider that failed miserably?

[manadren]

Way to answer the question Red...

But to actually answer flowergirls' question and to over-simplify the whole thing, the LHC is designed to accelerate either streams of protons or lead atoms to insane speeds, and smash them together. They look at the explosion for evidence of the smallest most basic particles that make up everything. In particular one of the things they are looking for is the Higg's Boson, a particle a guys named Higg's came up with to explain why particles have mass. This particle explains everything pretty well, but no one's been able to detect one yet, because there hasn't been a tiny thing smasher powerful enough to make one pop up. If the LHC doesn't produce a Higg's Boson, scientists will need to come up with another theory of why things have mass. The LHC will also be used for other stuff on the level of figuring of the nature of space, time, matter, antimatter, dark matter, dimensions... basic why and how things exist kind of stuff, at least from a scientific perspective, not philosophical.

The whole big bang aspect that Red was alluding to is that the explosion created by the particles is said to be similar to the conditions just after the big bang, which Red thinks is stupid because the Big Bang tends not to fit in with a biblical literalist's world view.

As to Bookworm's question, they got the LHC back up and running a few days ago, and yes it's the one you are thinking of. When you have something this massive and powerful, the tiniest thing can throw it out of whack.

[Chris Vogel]

Just watch the kickin’ rap video.