Hey Ike...

[Sooner_Havok]

As the LHC is cooled down in preparation for its activation, I am getting a little more worried about strangelets. Care to dispel my fears?

[Sooner_Havok]

Ands my fears still have not been calmed.

WE IS ALL GONNA DIE!!!!!!!!!!!1

[Ike]

Sure:

First and foremost: If strangelets do indeed exist and can be formed by the LHC in sufficient number to destroy the universe, the upside is you'll never know. It'll come pretty instantaneously.

Second: I invoke the Anthropic principle. The planet's been around how many billions of years? In that time it's been bombarded with enough ultra high energy cosmic rays that anything that could be produced in the LHC has already been produced in large numbers in the earths atmosphere. We're still here. If strangelets do exist, they either a) require such high energies that they haven't yet been created in cosmic rays in the earths atmosphere, and are thus out of reach by the LHC, or b) they are harmless.

Third: When it comes to physics, there are lots of kooks who are eager to tell you why the next major experiment will kill us all. The gentleman raising the "ZOMG! strangelets!" arguments has (unsuccessfully) sued to try to stop several other accelerators from turning on. All of those machines have turned on, and, again, we are still here.

[Sooner_Havok]

Sure:

First and foremost: If strangelets do indeed exist and can be formed by the LHC in sufficient number to destroy the universe, the upside is you'll never know. It'll come pretty instantaneously.

Second: I invoke the Anthropic principle. The planet's been around how many billions of years? In that time it's been bombarded with enough ultra high energy cosmic rays that anything that could be produced in the LHC has already been produced in large numbers in the earths atmosphere. We're still here. If strangelets do exist, they either a) require such high energies that they haven't yet been created in cosmic rays in the earths atmosphere, and are thus out of reach by the LHC, or b) they are harmless.

Third: When it comes to physics, there are lots of kooks who are eager to tell you why the next major experiment will kill us all. The gentleman raising the "ZOMG! strangelets!" arguments has (unsuccessfully) sued to try to stop several other accelerators from turning on. All of those machines have turned on, and, again, we are still here.

Works for me.

[NormanPride]

I will be selling tinfoil hats to concerned citizens starting two days prior to the first experiment. Starting price is $2k per hat. Hats are one time use only, of course.

[Frozen Sooner]

Sure:

First and foremost: If strangelets do indeed exist and can be formed by the LHC in sufficient number to destroy the universe, the upside is you'll never know. It'll come pretty instantaneously.

Second: I invoke the Anthropic principle. The planet's been around how many billions of years? In that time it's been bombarded with enough ultra high energy cosmic rays that anything that could be produced in the LHC has already been produced in large numbers in the earths atmosphere. We're still here. If strangelets do exist, they either a) require such high energies that they haven't yet been created in cosmic rays in the earths atmosphere, and are thus out of reach by the LHC, or b) they are harmless.

Third: When it comes to physics, there are lots of kooks who are eager to tell you why the next major experiment will kill us all. The gentleman raising the "ZOMG! strangelets!" arguments has (unsuccessfully) sued to try to stop several other accelerators from turning on. All of those machines have turned on, and, again, we are still here.

Of course, you could also say that we don't exist along another path.

Because of quantum.

[Ike]

Oh, and it's possible I'll be there for the first collisions...


http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/large_hadron_collider.png

[Sooner_Havok]

I was always under the assumption that strangelets formed by cosmic rays would decay to a positive charge, and thus would be repelled normal matter. But, if we make them with collisions we could create negatively charged strangelet states that could interact with normal matter.

Is that baseless?

[Ike]

Thats apparently the claim. Although at this point there is exactly zero evidence to back it up. In the manner that stranglets could most likely be produced, the LHC is comprable to RHIC, which has seen zero strangelets. (they did do a search for them)

[Sooner_Havok]

Thats apparently the claim. Although at this point there is exactly zero evidence to back it up. In the manner that stranglets could most likely be produced, the LHC is comprable to RHIC, which has seen zero strangelets. (they did do a search for them)

As long as there are no ice-9 scenarios, GO SCIENCE!

[badger]

Oh, and it's possible I'll be there for the first collisions...

Ooh! Take pictures of the Bosons!

[Mixer!]

LHC + RHIC = RLIMC

:confused:

[Ike]

Ooh! Take pictures of the Bosons!

They'll look the same as the bosons here. Just more Frenchified.

[Mixer!]

They wear little berets?

[Tulsa_Fireman]

Do not take our le picture!

We zurrender!

[StoopTroup]

You guys need to see Wall-E.

You'll see just how we're polluting the Earth.

Our existence depends on Space Cruises!

We must start buidling our SPACE ARKS!

Who's with me?

:D

[Tulsa_Fireman]

WAS IT OVER WHEN THE GERMANS BOMBED PEARL HARBOR!?

[soonerboomer93]

They'll look the same as the bosons here. Just more Frenchified.

so any strangelets that form will just surrender quickly and we won't have to worry?

[StoopTroup]

What about The Oklahoma Strangelets?

Oops...wrong thread.

Sorry. :D

[Sooner_Havok]

so any strangelets that form will just surrender quickly and we won't have to worry?

We may have to worry about them tripping over themselves as they run away :D

[Animal Mother]

As long as there are no ice-9 scenarios, GO SCIENCE!

Satriani? Is that you?