World's Most Expensive Science Experiment Unknown?

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:24:00 GMT

By Ben Boschert

Large Hadron Collider

When asked about the Hadron Collider the average person would reply similarly or in an even more clueless manner as Mr. Semrow, “Something to do with magnets?” And when asked about its main goal many people, like Mr. Semrow, say they don’t understand it. “I don’t understand its meaning; I don’t even know where it is,” said Mr. Semrow when asked what he thought about its overall goal. After our discussion Mr. Semrow requested that I send him an article with more information on the machine On September 10, 2008 CERN shot a beam of protons around their 17 mile long track with over 1,600 superconducting magnets, 1,323 dipole magnets, and 392 quadruple magnets. There were many other assets to the large collider, all adding up to over $8 billion, and very few people even know it exists. The American government itself donated $153 million and U.S. citizens know very little if anything about that money spent on this giant supercollider. When asked about the money spent on the collider Mr. Semrow replied, “I think that the money put towards that was better than putting it towards Iraq.” He was also asked if he thought that the brainpower put towards such a marvel could have been put towards a better cause. “Scientists are smart people, so if they think it’s a good idea I trust it should be good too. I think its going to be similar to the space program, when results come more people might agree with it,” replied Mr. Semrow. Fortunately, for those like Mr. Semrow, there are people in the community, like Kevin Hugo and Gerry Burr, who have the knowledge to explain the goals of the particle accelerator. When asked questions about the Hadron Collider they both gave similar answers. Gerry Burr said that the discoveries found with this collider are not going to be able to be utilized for years to come, but it's possible these discoveries could make things that are only seen in science fiction movies. “At this point in time it won't but the possible discoveries for the future could lead to some way out ideas like folding space to travel to different galaxies or even time travel.” Burr then talked about how particle physics in general affects the common person. He says that practically all technology comes from a type of basic research in some way, shape, or form. He also thinks that the better understanding of the world will help scientists in the future make better, more efficient technological advances. “The better we understand the way things were made and how they evolved the better future scientists will understand which path to take when developing technological advances. Common people may not see direct influences but all technology has a way of filtering down to the masses as the secret of the discovery is shared,” stated Burr. Kevin Hugo went into more detail on the subject. He says the same thing as Burr when it comes to utilizing the discoveries but the possibilities that the discoveries might be used for would be different; things may be innovated such as energy sources. “I think they might be able to figure out nuclear fusion,” said Hugo. I then asked Hugo what nuclear fusion is. He replied, “Nuclear fusion is taking simple elements like hydrogen and combining their nuclei to create huge amounts of energy.” Hugo also gave examples of how particle physics has changed life for the common man. He said that nuclear energy and the better understanding of matter itself was a result of particle physics. “Many things have come out of particle physics, one of them being nuclear energy. A better understanding of matter itself helps us create these advances to benefit the common person.” Gerry Burr also talked about what the collider itself hopes to prove. He said that the collider is going to further prove some of Einstein’s theories and disprove some of the quantum theories so that scientists don’t have to mess around with other ways to find the answers they are looking for. “ Kevin Hugo agrees with Burr but adds to it. He says that they will also find how gravity works by finding Higgs Boson and disprove dark matter. “CERN is looking to find how gravity works through the Hadron Collider and if dark matter is even real. I personally don’t believe dark matter but some people think its true. It should be interesting what they find.”

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World's Most Expensive Science Experiment Unknown?