Big Fizzle: The Large Hadron Non-Collider

By Davey Winder
Wednesday, 10 September 2008 15:06

Science - Energy

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.

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