Monday, June 30, 2008

Critics fear this upcoming release could "destroy the earth:" is it a new book of poems? No, it's a new super-collider:

The machine, which has been called the largest scientific experiment in history, isn't expected to begin test runs until August, and ramping up to full power could take months. But once it is working, it is expected to produce some startling findings.

Scientists plan to hunt for signs of the invisible "dark matter" and "dark energy" that make up more than 96 percent of the universe, and hope to glimpse the elusive Higgs boson, a so-far undiscovered particle thought to give matter its mass.

The collider could find evidence of extra dimensions, a boon for superstring theory, which holds that quarks, the particles that make up atoms, are infinitesimal vibrating strings.

The theory could resolve many of physics' unanswered questions, but requires about 10 dimensions - far more than the three spatial dimensions our senses experience.


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Kevin Prufer on DA Powell here.

2 comments:

Kelli Russell Agodon - Book of Kells said...

Hi Peter,

I've enjoyed your blog this summer!

Anyway, I'm always amused when anyone uses the term "destroy the earth" -- because the earth will be here long after humans leave. It's not the earth that will be destroyed from global warming, science experiments...it's us! ;-)

And on that happy thought, have a great sunny day. You and Dean have the life-- I love the image of you both in the backyard with martinis and crossword puzzles. I think you should have a sign on your garden that reads: Utopia.

happy summer, use your sunblock!

Peter said...

Hi Kelli:
I'm glad you like the image of our garden. Perhaps someday we'll have you and Rose over for a "refreshing beverage." *wink*