Echoes of Trinity

Scientific experiments that arouse fears of global, if not greater, destruction don't happen every day.

But what about Wednesday? The ambitious Large Hadron Collider project - set to begin Wednesday - is a major attempt by scientists to understand how matter itself exists.

There are swirling rumors (obviously not shared by whoever is set to turn the thing on) that the scientists working on the project could inadvertantly lead to the earth's destruction, which is somewhat reminiscent of what transpired before the first nuclear weapons test.

On July 16,1945, when the United States and Japan were still at war, Manhattan Project scientists in New Mexico conducting the first-ever test of the atomic bomb. The Department of Energy's history of that historic day recalls there was some humor expressed as to whether the Trinity Test would be mankind's last experiment.

To break the tension, (Enrico) Fermi began offering anyone listening a wager on "whether or not the bomb would ignite the atmosphere, and if so, whether it would merely destroy New Mexico or destroy the world." Oppenheimer himself had bet ten dollars against George Kistiakowsky's entire month's pay that the bomb would not work at all. Meanwhile, Edward Teller was making everyone nervous by applying liberal amounts of sunscreen in the pre-dawn darkness and offering to pass it around.

Now, physicists are seeking to debunk rumors that a major experiment slated to begin Wednesday could annihilate the world. Science writers are reporting that some are concerned the Large Hadron Collider - an immense particle accelerator built near Geneva, Switzerland, will do exactly that. The worry includes fear that the experiment could spawn Earth-destroying black holes within the 27 km particle accelerator.

It should be noted the physicists working on the Collider - intended to allow scientists to simulate conditions that are believed to have existed in the immediate aftermath of the Big Bang - do not expect to murder the planet in their search for knowledge.

Here's one article on the experiment.

And here's a column about the super-small black holes that may be created, but are not expected to end the world.