The Hubble Telescope of Inner Space . . . watching the birth of the universe

[Stumptown]

Originally Posted by skins

I very interesting read. thanks for the post cowperson. there was a lot of thick science in that article, but it was still facinating.


what I would like to know is, how do they know they're accurately recreating what the universe was like when it was one trillionth of a second old? does anyone have any good resources regarding this?

I just finished reading Brian Greene's "Fabric of the Cosmos," which gives a pretty good overview (though still quite a heavy read) of the fundamental theories that the collider will be testing. Recommended, but "The Elegant Universe," his earlier book, I thought was a more compelling read, though it doesn't go into the new experimental cases as much as "Fabric" does.

Proof of the existence of the Higgs field will be a massive step if they pull it off. It's one of those answers to the "why" question, and not just the "how."

I read a while back that there was a massive accident involving some bad calculations and the huge magnets that destroyed a lot of equiment on the collider and was supposed to set them back by months. Surpised it didn't warrant a mention in this article.

[troutman]

New evidence for dark matter:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/0...eut/index.html

• Cosmic ring strongest evidence yet for the existence of dark matter
• Ring created by the collision of two galaxy clusters
• Astronomers: Dark matter comprises about 85 percent of the universe's material
• Dark matter cannot be directly seen -- it does not shine or reflect light

[arsenal]

I think this is a really cool experiment, but part of me thinks what happens if someone forgets about a decimal place? (Ie: Micheal Bolton ala Office Space), and instead of seeing what the universe looked like when it was created, we open a black hole / worm hole that either swallows the earth, or we are invaded by giants ants!

[Cube Inmate]

All of this theoretical physics is interesting in the sense that we're innately curious about our origins and the nature of existence, but there's only one thing that can make people really connect to something:

"Nice theory...but can you make money off of it?"

Quantum physics and general relativity, as they exist now, give the tools to make certain technologies possible. Will the observation of a Higgs boson (or whatever) lead to developments that can actually make money? For anybody in the know, explain to me how $7B worth of development costs will improve life on earth?

I know this sounds like I'm skeptical of such improvements, but I'm not so much skeptical as uninformed. Fix that for me, eh?

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Cube Inmate

All of this theoretical physics is interesting in the sense that we're innately curious about our origins and the nature of existence, but there's only one thing that can make people really connect to something:

"Nice theory...but can you make money off of it?"

Quantum physics and general relativity, as they exist now, give the tools to make certain technologies possible. Will the observation of a Higgs boson (or whatever) lead to developments that can actually make money? For anybody in the know, explain to me how $7B worth of development costs will improve life on earth?

I know this sounds like I'm skeptical of such improvements, but I'm not so much skeptical as uninformed. Fix that for me, eh?

NASA spin-offs:

http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html

Some of the most frequently asked questions about the U.S. space program are "Why go into space when we have so many problems here on Earth?" and "What does the space program do for me?" These are legitimate questions and unfortunately not enough people have been made aware of the vast benefits the space program provides that increase the quality of our daily lives. Applications on Earth of technology needed for space flight have produced thousands of "spinoffs" that contribute to improving national security, the economy, productivity and lifestyle. It is almost impossible to find an area of everyday life that has not been improved by these spinoffs. Collectively, these secondary applications represent a substantial return on the national investment in aerospace research. We should be spending more.

http://space.about.com/od/toolsequip...lospinoffs.htm

Every day, in a variety of ways, American lives are touched by space technology. Since 1976, about 1,400 documented NASA inventions have benefited U.S. industry, improved the quality of life and created jobs for Americans. The Apollo program has helped change the way of life in America, especially in health care. Here are some of the inventions contributed by the Apollo program.

[Cube Inmate]

^^^ No doubt in my mind that the space program has contributed.

Has the (theoretical) discovery of Hawking radiation (as one example) done anything for humanity?

[photon]

Before Maxwell no one could have predicted that his discoveries would eventually lead to radio and TV, and at the time some may have thought his research as unnecessary... that's the thing, it's impossible to tell which lines of pure scientific will result in things that help humanity.

We could discover something that allows us find new sources of energy, or gain control over forces that we currently can't (like gravity) and use them in new ways.

Something like Hawking radiation might not have a direct practical application, but what it does do is either add support to an existing theory or provide evidence that a new theory is required, which is VERY important.. not every discovery can lead to microwaves or fiber optics or quantum computers, but each one along the way plays as much a role in that pivotal discovery as the discoverer him/herself!

[Cube Inmate]

^^ Bingo!

That's the perspective I was looking for. That cuts right through the mumbo-jumbo of strangely-named particles and the religious implications that are being tied to this.

Thanks

[troutman]

Is particle research useful?

http://public.web.cern.ch/public/Con...Useful-en.html

Technological offsprings of particle physics

http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=79315

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Startup has now been delayed till early 2008.

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2...lhc-may08.html

[Sample00]

where's Cheese when ya need him?

[photon]

So we get a few more months of life before starting 'er up and triggering a collapse of the vacuum to a lower energy state, destroying the universe as we know it. Sweet.