Why

Why

Mike Poulin (guest) 25 Sep 2010 13:59

Why do certain people think the LHC is dangerous i mean how long have the CERN people been testing it and running it if it was so dangerous wouldn't it have killed us long ago. Could someone answer this for me.

Re: Why

bikenbeer2000 25 Sep 2010 14:20

If the words 'black hole' had never been used in any of the publicity for, or commentary on the LHC, hardly anybody would have taken any notice.

Mike Poulin (guest) 25 Sep 2010 16:25

How often is the LHC actually turned on i read on the physcisforum that the LHC was turned on back in March how often is it used.

Mike Poulin (guest) 25 Sep 2010 18:14

Alright you've answered one question Bikenbear but my other question for someone that can answer it. Why do so many people doubt the CERN Physicists and the other people that are involved with this project want to kill us and them and their future WHAT SENSE WOULD THAT MAKE.

UndeadxNurse 25 Sep 2010 20:53

Simple psychology.

People are afraid of things that are new, they're especially afraid of things that they don't understand.
When electricity was first introduced, there were actually plenty of doubts and even rumors surrounding the use of electricity as well, just as there are with the LHC.

The difference here, however, is that the LHC introduces something to the public that no one, except legitimate scientists, fully understand.
Particles, Ions, etc. you really can't expect the public, especially the average person to understand these things and because they don't understand it, they're wary of scientists messing with it.

Just like when electricity was first introduced, it was new, it was something that the public really didn't understand at the time and it was even black-labeled until it was proven useful.

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Wie Sie säen, so sollst du ernten.

Astrogeek 25 Sep 2010 21:44

There has been fear-mongering over every invention since the industrial age began. Electricity (as you point out) but also cars, trains, and aircraft. It was once common knowledge that the human body could not withstand speeds above 30 miles per hour!

Medical techniques have also been the recipients of this kind of fear-mongering. Who is not familiar with the vaccination 'controversy'?

This kind of hyperbolic fear is nothing new.

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"Do you ever think about things you do think about?" - Henry Drummond to Matthew Harrison Brady in Inherit the Wind

(account deleted) 26 Sep 2010 00:07

Hi Mike,

You asked,

Why do so many people doubt the CERN Physicists and the other people that are involved with this project want to kill us and them and their future … ?

I'm not very familiar with the reasons why people are worried about the safety of the LHC, but I suspect those reasons fall into the following categories.

1. Screeds from people like He-Who-Has Been-Banned-From-This-Site. There seems to be something about a lunatic's utter conviction and forceful personality that causes people to wonder, "But what if he's right?"
2. Honest ignorance about the level of risk involved. I used to work in development of fuels for nuclear reactors, so I got to hear a lot on this subject.
3. Honest differences of opinion about what level of risk is acceptable.
4. Honest concern that the scientists who reviewed the LHC might have allowed its almost-certain benefits to (honestly) cloud their judgment about its potential risks.
5. Forgive me, but I must say it: Recognition that the scientific community has its fair share of liars and frauds, who are sometimes in collusion with peer reviewers. The authors of this article about two cases of fraud in physics had an agenda, but the same cases were covered in The Los Angeles Times and Nature. Google "scientific fraud" for more examples.

You might ask why I'm not at all worried about LHC. I just believe that if the Doomsday scenarios were even remotely possible, some competent physicist would by now have said to himself, "It's time to go to WikiLeaks: the knowledge we'll gain isn't worth the risk of my family being done in by a Strangelet."

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"I was glad to be able to answer him promptly and with confidence. Without hesitation, I told him I didn't know." Mark Twain

Last edited on 26 Sep 2010 00:43 by (account deleted) Show more

Mike Poulin (guest) 26 Sep 2010 17:00

Thanks Jim and everyone else who responded but i have one more question. Has there ever been any other Heavy Ion Collisions from the LHC in the past or is the one in November the first one.