I have to admit that this is way over my head but it is certainly interesting reading.

This is a well-written story dealing with some important questions, but the little joke at the end about dragons eating us leaves me thinking that the author does not really think we are capable of blowing ourselves up or dissolving ourselves into a black hole or anything in between. We have our own version of CERN, it is called HAARP and it has been called into question by a lot of scientists and researchers for similar reasons; but unlike CERN it has already been operating for years and was recently even expanded. If colliding atoms doesn't sound dangerous, how about sending huge amounts of electricity into the ionosphere? Our military researchers may kill us all before our enemies have a chance, unless reporters start ... More »

One of those articles that just begs to be read. It's either the biggest story ever, or merely a diverting piece of oddball Saturday flotsam. Either way, it certainly caught my attention. Great journalism? I dunno.

This question has popped up and troubled me for years. The risk in terms of probability may be quite low, but the uncertainty of the theory in super-high energy collisions is the reason for the research. Given the uncertainty, what is the acceptable level of risk for obliterating our "world?" And how does the risk compare to the potential benefit? One SETI estimate of the number of planets where intelligent life evolved in the universe is the number of black holes; intelligence there may have evolved far enough to develop super-colliders. With dark fatalism, CERN could save us from the worry of global climate change...

First-rate metaphysical reporting. No it's not April fools yet! And from a reporter named Over-bye! I submitted this piece and am surprised so many of you can't see the lighter side of this. It's both important AND a joke. Reminiscent of the great Douglas Adams' Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The fact is, given quantum probability, green dragons can also happen, but very low likelihood. Would have been nice to know the difference in probability between that and a black hole though.

Cosmic rays have been bombarding earth for billions of years. The odds of the "predicted" danger materializing are infinitesimally small. And the zero velocity idea is nuts.

Wagner and Sancho are well known as deluded crackpots to the community if physicists and engineers who work at accelerator facilities all over the world. The W & S "resumes" indicate that they have virtually no science in their backgrounds, except that legal beagle Wagner claims he once worked as a radiation safety officer for the VA and Sancho claims he is a "time researcher" of some sort. Yes, and we will believe them if they agree that little white laboratory mice will not likely take over the world. It is evident that they know nothing about how the LHC is constructed or its purpose, how black holes form or of their fates in space, and their warning about the science fiction notion of "strange matter" is worthy only of a ... More »