Davey Winder
Wednesday, 10 September 2008 16:06
Science -
Energy
Page 1 of 2
It is nicknamed the God Particle, and that's what the Large Hadron Collider hopes to create. That's what all the fuss is really about. That's what isn't happening today, or tomorrow, or any time real soon...
You can remove your head from between your knees and relax. Despite what
the media is saying, the world is not going to end today.
In fact, the Large Hadron Collider isn't going
to be searching for the God Particle, the elusive Higgs boson, until
the end of the year.
So what is with all the media coverage that has been warning us to take
shelter, make amends with the mother-in-law and seek spiritual guidance
as the world is coming to an end? I've been wondering about that myself.
A few million luddites, one
UK newspaper warns,
are saying that not only will mankind not benefit materially from the particle
collision but "mankind may not be around at all."
That kind of coverage is fairly typical, it has to be said. Our own
iTWire science reporters have taken things a little more seriously.
However, there can be no doubting that everything has been building up
today, with most of the world's media covering the story of how the LHC
was switched on this morning. How it could have been stopped, how it
would have been done differently in the US, how it should unravel the
mysteries of the universe.
Could have, would have, should have.
CONTINUED
