Originally posted by zorgon
Originally posted by BlasteR
And why would destroying a few molecules in the name of groundbreaking science make that much of a difference?
Well that ground breaking science say you cannot destroy matter only convert it
But its the 'ground breaking' people are worried about
This same kind of public concern for groundbreaking science is well documented throughout history. One great example is the trinity atomic test.
Some people thought that the trinity atomic test would cause some kind of massive chain reaction and destroy the entire planet. It didn't happen.
Of coarse we would all be alot better off if atomic weapons were never discovered because we wouldn't have to worry about some dictator initiating an
all out nuclear holocaust. But the concept still applies.
There are countless other similar examples throughout history, involving nature itself rather than science, which caused people to believe we were all
gonna die. Comets and eclipses are a couple. Which isn't to say that a comet couldn't create a mass extinction event. But, as you probably well
know, comets didn't just scare people because they feared it would hit the earth.
The point is that the doomsday scenario has always been theorized and/or feared but it has never come true. That isn't to say that it couldn't
happen tomorrow for whatever reason. But, IMO, the LHC is the least of our worries right now (If you choose to even call it that). The media has
hyped this story to no end because the entire premise behind this hypothetical doomsday scenario gets people's attention and makes a great news
story. If you notice, other massive scientific undertakings similar to the LHC have gotten nearly NO media attention. For example, people aren't
exactly biting their fingernails over what's gonna happen with the NIF laser in Livermore, California.
Projects like this, for example..
lasers.llnl.gov...
discovermagazine.com...
And I doubt they've had a mass of protestors to worry about like they have in Geneva, Switzerland right now.
-ChriS
[edit on 9-8-2008 by BlasteR]