CERN, the international scientific organization that operates the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), has been trying to comfort people. Since the LHC rebooted this summer with twice the energy it had before, the world’s largest machine has been the subject of praise and marvel — and fear and derision. CERN has sought to assuage people who are misinformed about its mission and also allay the fears of those who understand its mission well enough, yet still believe the scientists at CERN are “playing God.”
[Large Hadron Collider Effects On Weather Patterns]
One of the most asked questions CERN continues to try to answer is whether or not the LHC, by smashing atoms into each other at such extraordinary velocity, will create black holes. In a recent Q&A CERN denies its ability to create black holes with the LHC in the “cosmological sense.” But some theories suggest the “formation of tiny ‘quantum’ black holes may be possible.” This, CERN admits, would be “thrilling in terms of our understanding of the universe.” It would also, CERN says, be “perfectly safe.”
