tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4175707315310363790.comments2023-11-03T03:13:42.225-07:00From the benchMichael Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12251385263803814343noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4175707315310363790.post-85597935261391460442009-12-28T06:44:17.248-08:002009-12-28T06:44:17.248-08:00The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a gigantic scie...The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a gigantic scientific instrument near Geneva, where it spans the border between Switzerland and France about 100 m underground. It is a particle accelerator used by physicists to study the smallest known particles – the fundamental building blocks of all things. It will revolutionise our understanding, from the minuscule world deep within atoms to the vastness of the Universe. Two beams of subatomic particles called 'hadrons' – either protons or lead ions – will travel in opposite directions inside the circular accelerator, gaining energy with every lap. Physicists will use the LHC to recreate the conditions just after the Big Bang, by colliding the two beams head-on at very high energy. Teams of physicists from around the world will analyse the particles created in the collisions using special detectors in a number of experiments dedicated to the LHC. I am a college sophomore with a dual major in Physics and Mathematics @ University of California, Santa Barbara. By the way, i came across these excellent <a href="http://www.funnelbrain.com/" rel="nofollow">physics flash cards</a>. Its also a great initiative by the FunnelBrain team. Amazing!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4175707315310363790.post-27544103541317251432009-02-27T07:08:00.000-08:002009-02-27T07:08:00.000-08:00look at http://xstructure.inr.ac.ru/htopics2008.ht...look at http://xstructure.inr.ac.ru/htopics2008.htmAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09128725181332306527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4175707315310363790.post-10084512059704004332008-07-20T10:07:00.000-07:002008-07-20T10:07:00.000-07:00It's not over, I know that much. There will be a ...It's not over, I know that much. There will be a lot more anger come the end of this and the next grants round and when they start clawing money back from previously awarded grants.<BR/><BR/>I think a lot of people are weary of it all at the moment - we didn't come into this job to be fighting with politicians, we want to do science.<BR/><BR/>The meeting was dull by all accounts but then an awful lot of people did not bother going - many because they knew it would be dull. <BR/><BR/>The most interesting thing is the way STFC dealt with the media in that meeting. I am surprised that has not garned more attention.Kavhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02741198264370890465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4175707315310363790.post-38519184355407268532008-05-28T10:17:00.000-07:002008-05-28T10:17:00.000-07:00Article quote: "There is a danger"The danger is fa...Article quote: "There is a danger"<BR/><BR/>The danger is far more than a financial danger, according to Dr. Raj Baldev who writes (of the Large Hadron Collider): "<I>… the scientists are fully aware that it is not a project without a grave risk to the life of the Earth.</I>”<BR/><BR/>Will CERN oppose the legal action in US Federal court to require that a safety review be peer reviewed for four months by the world wide scientific community before collisions begin?<BR/><BR/>According to an email I received, CERN does promise to find an outside group to approve of their LSAG's safety report, once completed, before collisions begin.<BR/><BR/>However, in my opinion, unless the world wide scientific community peer reviews this safety document for at least four months, I will not have reasonable faith in it, and I will remain concerned that the Large Hadron Collider may have the potential to end all life on Earth.<BR/><BR/>(<I>CERN's LHC Safety Assessment Group is currently engaged in a non-transparent effort to prove reasonable safety from micro black holes because no reasonable proof currently exists. My research indicates that it may not currently be possible to prove reasonable safety.</I>)<BR/><BR/>Learn why it may not be possible to prove reasonable safety and why the risks may actually be a probability at <B>LHCFacts.org</B>JTankershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01016299097944020569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4175707315310363790.post-90543066351516843542008-05-28T03:10:00.000-07:002008-05-28T03:10:00.000-07:00A quick point in Diamond's defence - the statement...A quick point in Diamond's defence - the statement that the UK synchrotron is "less powerful" than ESRF is a bit misleading. It does operate at a lower energy (3 GeV compared to 8 GeV at the ESRF), but unlike the particle smashing machines this is not the key criterion. The UK benefits from Diamond because there are experiments that can be carried out at a medium energy source like Diamond that are difficult or impossible at a high energy source like the ESRF. <BR/><BR/>Also having a UK synchrotron means that more UK scientists can get access - even if the UK increases its investment in ESRF it doesn't mean there will be more access.Sarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16041543330082337913noreply@blogger.com