Well, except one perhaps, the LHC.
What does the LHC have to do with 2012?
but they didn't really adress the most vital points the opponents of LHC has made (Rössler et al).
Rossler (I'm too lazy to spell his name properly) believes the LHC will create black holes and destroy the world. In what way did the aforementioned articles not address this claim?
LASG bases most of their statements on the asumption that our understanding of physics is sufficient/correct, but what if it isn't?"
It isn't an assumption. Science works by molding theories around observations and testable predictions. Of course it isn't complete, but you incur a rather substantial burden by stating the world might be destroyed when an abundance of evidence and calculation says otherwise.
They assume that if a microscopic black hole where to be created, then it would be in an unstable form and thus cease to exist basicly in an instant «
Again, it isn't an assumption. It's a calculation. Most doomsday claims about black holes don't even bother with that. Rossler did, at least, and has been refuted for his trouble:
http://environmental-impact.web.cern.ch/environmental-impact/Objects/LHCSafety/NicolaiFurtherComment-en.pdf
(only leaving behind the still-to-be-proven Hawkings radiation). «
Science doesn't deal in "proof." It deals in evidence. The current evidence for Hawking radiation is admittedly not yet a slam dunk, but ancillary observations like the Sokolov–Ternov effect (and possibly the Unruh effect) support the theory. Regardless of this, Rossler's objections are based on bad science, as shown in the CERN EI statement above.
Yeah, it's CERN, but please consider what the authors say rather than just dismissing it as self-serving propaganda. They demolish Rossler's position in a concise four-page paper.
But, they go on saying that even if a stable MBH where to be created it wouldn't pose any direct danger, since it would be either slow-growing or not growing at all.
Actually, "they" are skeptical that the LHC is capable of creating a mBH at all.
Rössler on the other hand seem to think that there is a probability that the MBH could be growing exponentially instead of in an linear way, and that sure as hell wouldn't be good, would it?=)
Good thing Rossler is completely wrong, eh?
…the folks at CERN are frequently hinting at some analogical studies made on cosmic rays interaction with the moon and stellar bodies, pointing at the fact that they are bombarded with cosmic rays with thousand times the intensity of those hypothetically being created in the LHC without MBH's popping up anywhere. This kind of reasoning seems to be a little naive, a bit like the childish saying "if you can't see it, it doesn't exist". «
Actually, it's a bit like saying, "If energy many orders of magnitude greater than anything LHC is capable of doesn't create catastrophic black holes on a daily basis, then it's highly unlikely LHC will create catastrophic black holes."
I mean, even if there is the slightest risk of an rogue MBH being created must be enough to postpone all activity untill it is 100% clear that this kind of science won't cause our entire earth to disappear in a second.
There's no such thing as "100% clear." I don't even know what you think that means in a scientific context. I doubt there's a 100% chance your microwave won't create a black hole the next time you have leftovers. There is, however, no remotely compelling reason to think "the entire earth" will "disappear in a second."
…but I simply can't shake the feeling that this is going to end badly.
You keep talking about your feelings, and I'm truly sorry you feel as you do, but feelings don't make good arguments and aren't something I can address with counter-arguments. I've laid out my understanding of the subjects at hand, and I don't know what else to do. All I'm getting from you at this point is, "I'm afraid because I have a bad feeling," even though you yourself acknowledge the lack of any evidential basis for these fears. Even your worries about the LHC are rooted in the bad science of Otto Rossler (and maybe others, I dunno). Sincerely, I wish I knew what to say in the interest of chilling you out on these matters, but I seem to be at a loss. :|
Best regards.
Richard (guest) 04 May 2010 17:22
