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(See Parts One and Two ) For those following this story, the concerns expressed by a number of scientists over the Large Hadron Collider are more complex (make that far more complex) then earlier descriptions provided here. With thanks to JTankers in previous comment threads, I went and gave a listen to an interview with Nuclear Physicist Walter Wagner. (Parts one , two , three and four .) A number of facts about this scenario are quite different from my original perceptions, and we’ll try to sort some of those facts out here. NOTE : None of the parties involved on either side are saying that this disastrous scenario will happen, simply that it’s possible that it might and more study may be required. The events described below are only what would happen if a worst case scenario played out. We Won’t Know Right Away : After the experiment fires, even in the event that the worst case scenario unfolds, there will not be a sudden plop resulting in a black hole squatting in some chamber in the accelerator tunnel. Nor will there be any War Games style computer alarm going off saying “ Black Hole Detected! Run for your lives !” Any number of microscopic black holes (MBHs) would be created, and they would be travelling at a very high speed. Since the MBHs are about the size of a neutrino , they pass through almost all matter, dancing between the individual atoms, without slowing down. The scientists would have only a fraction of a second ...
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(See Parts One and Two ) For those following this story, the concerns expressed by a number of scientists over the Large Hadron Collider are more complex (make that far more complex) then earlier descriptions provided here. With thanks to JTankers in previous comment threads, I went and gave a listen to an interview with Nuclear Physicist Walter Wagner. (Parts one , two , three and four .) A number of facts about this scenario are quite different from my original perceptions, and we’ll try to sort some of those facts out here. NOTE : None of the parties involved on either side are saying that this disastrous scenario will happen, simply that it’s possible that it might and more study may be required. The events described below are only what would happen if a worst case scenario played out. We Won’t Know Right Away : After the experiment fires, even in the event that the worst case scenario unfolds, there will not be a sudden plop resulting in a black hole squatting in some chamber in the accelerator tunnel. Nor will there be any War Games style computer alarm going off saying “ Black Hole Detected! Run for your lives !” Any number of microscopic black holes (MBHs) would be created, and they would be travelling at a very high speed. Since the MBHs are about the size of a neutrino , they pass through almost all matter, dancing between the individual atoms, without slowing down. The scientists would have only a fraction of a second ...