Particle Physics’ King of Controversy

Inside the Large Hadron ColliderThe world is moving at an unfathomably fast pace and constantly looking toward the future; but physicists in Geneva, Switzerland are looking back to the beginnings of the universe to address some of particle physics' most pressing anomalies. Enter the Large Hadron Collider.

The European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) began talks about the project in the early 1980s, according to CERN spokesman James Gillies. The project was finally approved in 1994 to the tune of $10 billion.

"It seems like a big number, but it includes all the nuts and bolts," said Gillies of the exorbitant price tag.

How exactly does this Large Hadron Collider work, you ask? The process starts with a gas throttle filled with hydrogen gas. The hydrogen is released into a section of the collider that in turn releases the protons that will be whizzing around the three circular tunnels that make up the collider at 11,200 laps per second, "just shy of the speed of light," according to Gillies. The particles eventually bunch together into beams and are kept at the desired speed by what Gillies called a "Radio Frequency System."

The real adventure begins when the physicists attempt to make the beams (or bunches of protons) collide. It is predicted that the there will be 600 million proton collisions per second. 100 million individual sensors will be used to record the data from the experiment, "which will produce a lot of data," remarked Gillies. A computer system consisting of 100,000 computer processors (think the biggest Best Buy imaginable) will then sort through the data for useful information.

The Large Hadron Collider had to be shut down 36 hours after operations began on September 10 due to an electrical transformer failure, which was corrected, but a substantial portion of helium leaked into a different section of the collider during a test run, according to the Washington Post.

The Large Hadron Collider is kept at unimaginably low temperatures, and as such, the area has to be warmed up for three weeks before the temperatures are tolerable for humans and repairs can be made. Because the particle collider has to be shut down every year for routine maintenance from November through March, operations won't be able to begin again until next spring. However, the $10 billion budget includes spare parts and CERN has a good idea of the extent of the damage.

To find out more about how exactly this experiment will work, watch this video.

What are physicists hoping to find in this beyond elaborate and futuristic, sci-fi film-reminiscent experiment? "A range of things actually," said Gillies. CERN physicists are predicting to find insight into, most importantly, the beginnings of the universe, or in other words, what exactly happened during the "big bang."

"This is extraordinarily speculative," explained Gillies, but the Large Hadron Collider might also tell us why gravity is such a weak force in comparison to "what holds you and I (organisms) and atoms together."

Two men in Hawaii, who apparently lack any tangible scientific credentials, and a German professor of chemistry have published theories stating that the collision of protons may create a black hole (remember from Futurama?) that will end life on Earth.

"There is no possibility," responded Gillies. "Safety is an integral part of what we do." This same protest to stop CERN from proceeding with the Large Hadron Collider has been filed twice, in 1989 and 1999. These complaints were dismissed after independent studies were done to ensure that the particle collider wouldn't create the theorized apocalyptic catastrophe. It is not, as Michael Stipe muses, "the end of the world as we know it."

What can we take from the recent events in Geneva? Don't listen to your roommate if he or she tells you not to go to class because our professors, books and academic careers will be sucked into a black hole in a few weeks anyway. To a remark about the black hole conspiracy, Gillies replied, "the world will end, but it won't be for a very long time."