Or at least, if if it did, no one told me.
I’m afraid, yet again, I have to blame the media. Not for the fact that the universe didn’t end (Headline – MEDIA SAVE THE UNIVERSE) but for the way people kept coming up to me over the last few days asking if they should be worried about the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) switch-on.
The problem is that the snappy headline version of what was happening is something like Scientists re-create conditions of Big Bang, which sells newspapers, but is wrong in so many different ways.
Leaving aside the reality that yesterday there were no collisions – it was just the first time they’ve sent particles fully around the track – it seems more than a little irresponsible to suggest that the LHC is going to recreate the Big Bang.
Yes, it will (eventually) give us a better idea of how matter is made up, testing the reality of supersymmetric particles and the Higgs boson. Yes it’s just possible (but very, very unlikely) that tiny black holes will briefly form, giving a very indirect indication that there may be parallel universes. But recreating the Big Bang? No, not really.
On the positive side, I have also had lots of people ask what it’s all about – it certainly has rightly had more publicity than anything in physics since COBE/WMAP. Our village’s vicar even prayed on Sunday for good results from it (though, to be fair, he was a scientist originally).
So I shouldn’t really moan. But hey. What’s a blog for?
A quick scan of 4 British newspapers has found that the general conclusion of the press is that nothing much happened (Guardian, Independent, Telegraph, Times). I found the Guardian and Times on-line coverage to be the most interesting. Although the BBC has also a good site.
Unfortunately 24 hours is a very long time in on-line News and the BBC headline today under Science is World’s ‘rarest tree frog’ found. The image of the frog is certainly cuter than that of LHC.
I think the reason nothing much has happened is that they’re working out how to use the LHC to re-heat their coffee.
I have already posted a link to this on my blog comments but have you heard the Large Hadron Rap yet?
This is the question – is it better to have inaccurate but extensive coverage of a huge scientific experiment that could inspire a new generation, or a more accurate story that doesn’t necessarily get any coverage at all?
It has meant that every visitor to Diamond recently has been asking me if we’ll create any black holes. They seem slightly disappointed that we won’t….
maybe it takes some time to destroy the world?
Even god couldn’t create it in one day. Maybe scientists can’t destroy it in one day either.
Even god couldn’t create it in one day
Interesting theological point. Another time, perhaps.
I feel pretty sure that the LHC people must have done a few test runs before the media shindig, just to be on the safe side when they officially flipped the switch. Well, I would have done. Which again, leads to questions about the style of publicity. (If my speculation is correct, it isn’t very exciting to write that the media attended the fifth run or whatever.)
Maxine – as far as I’m aware they had been doing test runs for quite a while, but this was the first time they achieved a full circuit.