How can we stop them from splitting a proton?

Question

I read today in teh emtro newspaper that some scientists have built a £5billion machine that will split a proton next year and they don't know what will happen, it could create an instant shower of black holes though. Isn't there a way we can stop them and aren't there millions of things the money would have been better spent on?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

It's true that the money could have been spent on trying to resolve any of the numerous problems in the world, but from a philosophical POV, science needs to have its boundaries pushed to create new and useful developments.

If you read the novel "Earth" by David Brynn (Brinn?) it speculates on the artificial creation of black holes. I'm no quantum physicist, but it makes a plausible argument that these artificial black holes need to be constantly fed with matter, otherwise they 'die'. More importantly, that the energy produced by these entities is so vast it would pretty much solve the global energy crisis.

From a more balanced angle though, these scare stories put out by newspapers usually have very little basis in fact, and are usually written by journalists with little or no proper scientific background or knowledge of their subject matter.

I strongly recommend you read the 'Bad Science' setion of the Guardian. Look through the newspapers site or the columnist has a dedicated site (i think www.badscience.net or something like that). It's amazing how much of the stuff we're told in the name of 'science' is actually complete guff!

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

new books to read are always good, thankyou for your answer which was not only informative and polite but also put my panicky mind at rest.

Answer 2

This isn't anything new is it ? According to CERN, they've been doing this for years !

Source(s):

http://public.web.cern.ch/public/Content…

Answer 3

You won't say no to the cheap, clean energy that nuclear fusion will deliver one day.

Answer 4

Why climb a mountain? because it is there.

If we stop them today, they will do it tomorrow. Asking a human to stop discovering is like asking them not to breathe.

I hope the experiment goes well, dang the cost, if it solves the energy crisis it is money well spent.

Risky it may be, but it will be worth it. The earth has gone pete tong, we are probably doomed anyway.

My big concern is if they use it for negative means....so much energy and power in the hands of a mere mortal.....now that's scary.

Answer 5

You are making the assumption that $5 billion is a lot of money. Given that the US national debt increases by over $2 billion a day you can see that in relative terms $5 billion is a very SMALL amount of money and cannot possibly be used to solve any reasonably sized global or national problem. $5 billion equates to about $16 per American citizen, or about $1 a year for the life of the project. Even just one discovery would give a pay back on this mediocre investment, and it is very reasonable to assume that there will be many more discoveries from this project than just one.

Answer 6

i think its a particle accelerator and they intend to create tiny black holes that last for a split second. the chances of something bad happening are very small, it wouldnt surprise me if someone hasnt done the same thing elsewhere already.

Answer 7

We could have a mass protest,scientists do not care about the planet.I hope the paper has got it wrong.

Answer 8

A cascade of black holes? I'm sure I've seen that as a film plot, or was it a computer game?

But seriously, assuming it WON'T destroy the earth (which all other forms of farming and industry are doing so well at anyway), why shouldn't they split the proton? Providing it's not your tax money funding it, what do you care? You (and me and everyone else) has no right to tell a private concern what to do with their money.

Answer 9

5 billions pounds sterling to create something that somebody has absolutely no idea of an outcome, it has a high risk of back firing and causing chaos and have absolutely no idea if or when this is going to happen..................

MMMMMMMM................Sounds like democracy in Iraq!

Answer 10

Don't let the nearest James Bond baddie find out about that machine, for God's sake. Can you imagine him stroking his white cat and saying: "Meester Bond, I have acquired a machine for splitting the proton. If the world powers want to prevent a shower of black holes, they should give me..ONE MILLION DOLLARS! Mwah-ha-ha-ha!"

Answer 11

Don't let them play with it anymore.

Lock it up in the closet

Answer 12

Not to worry Sarah - scientists have safely been splitting the atom at various locations around the World for some decades now, and there's no reason to think we'll be showered in black holes.

But you may well have an argument regarding the cost, and whether the cash could be better spent.

Answer 13

oh don't believe what the Metro says about black holes. Lordy lordy...

The money could be a good investment if they find ways of caputring energy sources or similar. Don't forget, a lot of the technology you use today is founded on results of experiments like this one. Don't knock it my friend.

Answer 14

Haven't "They" already done all that at CERN!
Splitting a proton is nothing new. If they spent more money on anther machine to do this then it is a complete waste of money.

Answer 15

probably the only thing that will stop them is a massive solar flair that cuts power to the labs. these people do this stuff 100 of feet underground so hopfully if something did go wrong it would be contained - unless of course it WAS a black hole and in that case earth would be gone in seconds.

and yes, the money could have been better spent on loads of better things, like medicent and protein folding to find cures for illness.

Answer 16

all protons need splitting. they are such a crap car,