Jul 03, 2008

Atom Smashing Apocalypse

Atom Smasher
Apparently a $5.8 billion particle collider has been in development for the past generation and is set to officially begin test runs in August. The 17 mile wide device is meant to assist scientists in discovering more about dark matter and dark energy - a substance that supposedly makes up a large portion of the universe but very little is known about. The concern here is that once the machine is fully powered up (which takes months) it will produce so much energy that it could create a worldwide catastrophe. Granted that seems a bit unlikely but the odds given are 1 in 50 million - not far off from some lottery odds.

The danger is probably quite minimal but the news feels the need to spin it as some new forthcoming danger. Regardless, the development is fascinating.

Comments: Atom Smashing Apocalypse

Comments (9) · Jul 03, 2008 - 9:40 am · ∞