Giddings has co-authored a paper documenting his study of the safety of microscopic black holes that might possibly be produced by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which is nearing completion in Europe. The paper, co-authored by Michelangelo Mangano of the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN), which is building the world's largest particle collider, investigates hypothesized behavior of tiny black holes that might be created by high-energy collisions in the CERN particle accelerator.
If they appear at all, these black holes would exist for "about a nano-nano-nanosecond," Giddings said, adding that they would have no effect of consequence. However, the paper studies whether there could be any large-scale effects in an extremely hypothetical situation where the black holes don't evaporate.
The Giddings/Mangano study concludes that such microscopic black holes would be harmless. In fact, he added, nature is continuously creating LHC-like collisions when much higher-energy cosmic rays collide with the Earth's atmosphere, with the Sun, and with other objects such as white dwarfs and neutron stars. If such collisions posed a danger, the consequences for Earth or these astronomical objects would have become evident already, Giddings said.
"The future health of our planet and the safety of its people are of paramount concern to us all," Giddings said. "There were already very strong physics arguments that there is no risk from hypothetical micro black holes, and we've provided additional arguments ruling out risk even under very bizarre hypotheses."
The LHC, near Geneva, Switzerland, is expected to begin operations this summer. It will collide proton beams at levels of energy never before produced in a particle accelerator. Those results will then be studied for clues to new forces of nature, and possibly even extra dimensions of space. The first collision of beams is likely to be in September. The $8 billion project has taken 14 years.
Two men have filed a federal lawsuit in Hawaii in an attempt to halt the LHC due to their concerns about the safety of black holes. Giddings' study has been cited by CERN as evidence of the safety of the LHC.
3 comments:
I have great respect for Dr. Mangano, though I disagree that his work proves safety.
As for Hawking Radiation (micro black holes evaporating), is debunked theory, particles don't travel back in time and negative energy is not real.
Only a very small number of physicists have studied the safety arguments in detail, and the results are very mixed.
Most of the reviews are linked to CERN, either CERN scientists, CERN Scientific Policy Committee members or scientists requested to comment as a favor to CERN.
Other fully independent physicists including senior Physics PHD Dr. Rainer Plaga wrote a paper refuting safety and proposing risk mitigation measures, currently ignored by CERN.
Visiting Professor of Physics Dr. Otto Rossler is an award winning and famous contributor to Chaos Theory and the founder of Endophysics. Dr. Rossler also refutes CERN's claims that white dwarf and neutron stars are susceptible to fast moving micro black holes, Dr. Rossler contends that CERN's experiment may pose an existential risk to the planet.
Dr. Rossler calculates that creation of micro black holes could be catastrophic to Earth in years, decades or centuries.
Former cosmic ray researcher, California math champion and Nuclear Safety Officer Walter L. Wagner discovered flaws with CERN's safety arguments. He calculates stable strange matter creation (particularly from Lead Lead collisions) and dangerous micro black hole creation has not been excluded and might as likely prove catastrophic.
LHCFacts.org
"Only a very small number of physicists have studied the safety arguments in detail, and the results are very mixed."
The many that understand particle physics have found no danger. The two that don't found danger (though their doomsday scenarios were mutually exclusive). The two without expertise have indeed had their arguments demolished.
I wrote Large Hadron Collider: What’s the Risk? on this issue, which includes more about the two anti-LHC scientists, one of whom is extremely eccentric, to put it mildly.
Don't believe the propaganda, it is designed to denigrate the opposition, one target at a time.
Be smart, skeptical and studious and you just might discover truth.
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