The LHC

Well the Large Hadron Collider is finally up and running. I’m used to big science facilities, but man, it’s huge.

Of course some people got the idea that it was dangerous. My favourite is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt1Yo610lG0, by a guy that reckons that the LHC is solely designed by the masons (scientists are exactly the same as masons) to disrupt the Van Allen belt and allow Satan to come back.

I find it interesting that none of the doom-mongers seem to consider the possibility that CERN scientists aren’t likely to be suicidal. Not all of them. I mean, come on! And I think Stephen Hawking knows a bit more about black holes than I do. Although come to think of it, there are any number of politicians and oil barons who know far more about global warming in ten minutes than professional climate scientists who’ve been at it every working day for twenty years, right?

But for those who are still worried, here’s a couple of websites.

Has the LHC destroyed the earth?
http://hasthelhcdestroyedtheearth.com/

And the CERN webcam – so you can see whether it’s still there.
http://www.cyriak.co.uk/lhc/lhc-webcams.html

Alternatively, you could just boogie on with REM.

Posted by sheila

Sheila came to La Palma with a six month contract and has stayed 24 years so far. She used to work as a software engineer at the observatory, but now she's a writer and Starlight guide.

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