Large Hadron Collider Produces "mini Big Bang"

[Citrus]

I'm surprised nobody on the Escapist has brought this up yet. I'd say it's pretty substantial news.

The scientists working at the enormous machine achieved the unique conditions on 7 November.

The experiment created temperatures a million times hotter than at the centre of the Sun.

The LHC is housed in a 27km-long circular tunnel under the French-Swiss border near Geneva.

Up until now, the world's highest-energy particle accelerator - which is run by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (Cern) - has been colliding protons, in a bid to uncover mysteries of the Universe's formation.

Proton collisions could help spot the elusive Higgs boson particle and signs of new physical laws, such as a framework called supersymmetry.

But for the next four weeks, scientists at the LHC will concentrate on analysing the data obtained from the lead ion collisions.

David Evans from the University of Birmingham, UK, is one of the researchers working at ALICE.

He said that the collisions obtained were able to generate the highest temperatures and densities ever produced in an experiment.

"We are thrilled with the achievement," said Dr Evans.

This way, they hope to learn more about the plasma the Universe was made of a millionth of a second after the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago.

One of the accelerator's experiments, ALICE, has been specifically designed to study the smashing together of lead ions, but the ATLAS and Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiments have also switched to the new mode.

"Strong Force"

"This process took place in a safe, controlled environment, generating incredibly hot and dense sub-atomic fireballs with temperatures of over ten trillion degrees, a million times hotter than the centre of the Sun.

"At these temperatures even protons and neutrons, which make up the nuclei of atoms, melt resulting in a hot dense soup of quarks and gluons known as a quark-gluon plasma."

Quarks and gluons are sub-atomic particles - some of the building blocks of matter. In the state known as quark-gluon plasma, they are freed of their attraction to one another.

He explained that by studying the plasma, physicists hoped to learn more about the so-called strong force - the force that binds the nuclei of atoms together and that is responsible for 98% of their mass.

After the LHC finishes colliding lead ions, it will go back to smashing together protons once again.

Source: BBC [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11711228]

Very interesting. The LHC shows a lot of promise; it's good to see that the $9 billion investment is paying off.

 

[delet]

I can't wait till we make a complete mini universe and come to the conclusion that it's just a loop of loops, humanity creating a mini version of itself and becoming God.

 

[RebelRising]

I didn't understand a word of what was said there, but I'm glad work is finally paying off for those scientists.

 

[SpecklePattern]

I'm surprised nobody on the Escapist has brought this up yet. I'd say it's pretty substantial news.

*big snip*

Source: BBC [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11711228]

Very interesting. The LHC shows a lot of promise; it's good to see that the $9 billion investment is paying off.

Paying off? Hardly. But very interesting data is collected.

Like the fact that no one actually knew if these kind of temperatures would actually create some sort of mini black holes which would have perhaps less than funny effects. But it seems that the particle quantities and energy put into them in time span are still small enough not to cause anything nasty.

So...plasma weapons are one step away? Excellent!

Well the more heat exists, more unstable this high energy plasma becomes and there is always the interaction with air to concern with and... ... .. . Yes. Plasma weapons are one step away

 

[vanthebaron]

Is this more evidence against religion?

 

[Palademon]

I feel this is appropriate.

 

[Shru1kan]

Like the fact that no one actually knew if these kind of temperatures would actually create some sort of mini black holes which would have perhaps less than funny effects. But it seems that the particle quantities and energy put into them in time span are still small enough not to cause anything nasty.

I have to object to this. Any black holes created by the LHC would dissolve in a matter of milliseconds. I don't remember where the article itself is, but I do remember reading about it shortly after they got it up and running.

Not to be personal, but that type of thinking is the type of extreme "what if?'s" that hinder scientific progress. Akin to nobody driving their cars due the the pathetically insignificant chance that the whole thing will explode when the engine turns over.


And for a more direct topic response, this research will take years, if not decades to be fully expanded upon. However, it could lead to some interesting fuel sources if the "atomic fireballs" could be sustained. Maybe a great cost effective way to further nuclear power in the long run, if a few ions could simply be used to spark the reaction.

Is this more evidence against religion?

What caused the particles to move at such speeds in a vastly empty universe? I mean I'm a skeptic myself, but what would cause such a thing to happen? You'd still need the spark of energy that threw the collision course in motion, if nothing else.

 

[SpecklePattern]

So...plasma weapons are one step away? Excellent!

Well the more heat exists, more unstable this high energy plasma becomes and there is always the interaction with air to concern with and... ... .. . Yes. Plasma weapons are one step away

Mate, don't try to teach me science, my teacher was gone for 8 months during my course.

That and I was busy thinking about girls.

Yoda mode: But you can not learn or teach science, but you can think scientifically... Or girls.

 

[meticadpa]

Awesome news.

A lot of my physics teacher's friends work there.

So... just a bang then?

Agreed. "Mini Big-Bang" is a bit of an oxymoron.

 

[vanthebaron]

Is this more evidence against religion?

What caused the particles to move at such speeds in a vastly empty universe? I mean I'm a skeptic myself, but what would cause such a thing to happen? You'd still need the spark of energy that threw the collision course in motion, if nothing else.

I myself don't know but I'm damn sure that a skydaddy had nothing to do with it.

 

[Gamblerjoe]

the people who protested and sent death threats to the scientists involved clearly know nothing about hadron colliders or what they are doing with the LHC. these people, and most people really, dont understand the difference between black holes, singularities, and the big bang (as they stand as theories anyway). since hadron colliders dont create any of those things, we dont have anything to worry about anyway. that article did a great job of explaining what they do actually. if you know what a black hole is, you know that it is not the same thing as some superheated plasma.

Its been a while since iv read anything about the LHC, but i never knew that they where using it to study the strong force. I dont doubt that it will take decades to process and reexperiment, but we are going to learn so much about the most powerful, yet least understood force in the universe.

Id like to respond to the religious aspect by paraphrasing Stephen Hawkings. Scientists are striving to understand the physics behind the big bang, and other astrological phenomenon. Reaching this understanding does not negate religion in any way. Lets say that we were to figure out exactly how the big bang happened, and the set of circumstances that would lead to the course of events that created the universe and eventually all life. Just because we had that information doesnt mean that the whole thing wasnt set up by a deity. Furthermore, a deity that powerful could just skip ahead to the part where humans are created, meaning that the big bang would never have actually happened, even thought the universe is developing asif it did.

I personally am an atheist, so i dont know or care if that paragraph still contradicts what any given religion believes. IMO any cleric who would argue with that statement is just begging people to stop believing in their religion.

 

[Kenko]

Is this more evidence against religion?

Its another step in that direction. Isnt religious scripture evidence enough against religion in modern times?

 

[jamesworkshop]

Is this more evidence against religion?

Its another step in that direction. Isnt religious scripture evidence enough against religion in modern times?

I don't think it takes 9 billion US dollars to suggest that stories about a magic man who has magical sex with virgins who then has a son that grow up to perform magic mircals really needs that much money thrown at it to appear comical

 

[Jabberwock xeno]

I'm surprised nobody on the Escapist has brought this up yet. I'd say it's pretty substantial news.

The experiment created temperatures a million times hotter than at the centre of the Sun.

So then, if it produced temperatures approaching 27 TRILLION, 999 BILLION, 540 MILLION degree's Fahrenheit (for those of you outside of the US, It's 27 billion, 999 millard, 540 million degrees fahrenheit, I'm not converting it into celsius for ya), then explain to me, how did it NOT melt the air around it into plasma, or melt the LHC it'self into a slag of molten metal?

 

[Kenko]

Is this more evidence against religion?

Its another step in that direction. Isnt religious scripture evidence enough against religion in modern times?

I don't think it takes 9 billion US dollars to suggest that stories about a magic man who has magical sex with virgins who then has a son that grow up to perform magic mircals really needs that much money thrown at it to appear comical

You sir , will have my babies.... Plz?

 

[jamesworkshop]

Is this more evidence against religion?

Its another step in that direction. Isnt religious scripture evidence enough against religion in modern times?

I don't think it takes 9 billion US dollars to suggest that stories about a magic man who has magical sex with virgins who then has a son that grow up to perform magic mircals really needs that much money thrown at it to appear comical

You sir , will have my babies.... Plz?

Ok, what is your opening bid

open to haggling