Remember millennial angst when worries ranged from washing machines breaking down to computerised pension plans dissolving? Welcome to 2008’s equivalent – conCERN. This Wednesday scientists will circulate a beam of particles around the large hadron collider. The first particle collisions are planned for 21 Oct. This report’s intention is to allay ConCERNs that these collisions, designed to recreate conditions present at the Big Bang could produce black holes, endangering the Earth.
The work carried out at CERN is the collaborative fruit of 20 EU member states and a further 8 countries with observer status. Nevertheless, due to CERN’s location, many mistakenly believe this to be a Swiss project.
Were both popular misconceptions flagged up in this short piece to be true, what a hat-trick that would be – cuckoo clocks, chocolate and the destruction of Earth!
