beautiful

About the LHC and the end of the world

Lots of stuff has been circulating on the web about the LHC and the possible damage it may cause. Let us face the truth: an unimaginable amount of money has been spent on a machine that is so important for physicists as it is for mankind. Why? Because we have the chance to truly understand some deep questions that trigger the way the Nature is perceived. I reckon this comment on Cosmic Variance speaks for itself:

Actually, it is the end of the world as we know it. I will never again have to write a paper detailing the signatures of some crazy new Terrascale theory, wondering if there is any chance of connection to reality. I will never again have to plot a cross section as a function of the Higgs mass. In fact, I will never again have to do a loop over the Higgs mass in a code. I will never again wonder how electroweak symmetry is broken, how the hierarchy between the electroweak and gravity fundamental scales is maintained, whether there is a WIMP dark matter particle, or whether supersymmetry or extra spatial dimensions actually exist. Fundamental questions and roadblocks that have plagued us for literally decades will finally be answered and we will at last be able to move forward instead of spinning our wheels. Yes, indeed, the world will be truly different.

 

Possibly, only in two years time will we be able to positively answer these questions, but still September, 10th will mark the beginning of a journey.

Brainstorming just before the start of the term