The Large Hadron Collider will either affirm or obliterate some of the most important theories in physics. The downside? It also might destroy the earth.

The video below does a good job of explaining the importance of Higgs Particles. The LHC will either confirm or debunk the existence of Higgs Particles. In order to explain gravity, the Standard Model depends on the existence of Higgs Particles.



The Standard Model is currently the closest thing we have to a scientifically proven theory that explains everything. The widely debated String Theory depends on the Standard Model’s premise that everything can be explained by particles. Among other things, String Theory has the add on that all of these particles are the result of strings.

Some physicists think that the collisions in the LHC will cause miniature black holes. However, the theories that predict these miniature black holes depend on extra dimensions that might not exist. If these theories are correct and the black holes are created, most believe that they will not be sustained and will immediately evaporate.

However, extremely unlikely is much different than impossible. I trust that the physics community pushing this is much more knowledgeable than me, and would not carry out the experiment if they thought the earth would be destroyed. But, it is still a little disconcerting. If we are still alive in about three months, we will know that the LHC didn’t create an earth-consuming blackhole.

This post was inspired by one of Kelly’s comments. His blog, Psycho Carnival, takes a humorous look at the insanity of society, and the topics covered are often related to scifi.