Over a Week Later, Anyone see any Black Holes?

A few weeks ago I presented to my class on the Large Hadron Collider. What’s the Large Hadron Collider you ask? If you wish to know then take a look at the two articles I gathered information from. To sum it all up for those that don’t wish for a huge read, it was constructed by scientists to launch molecules across a 17 mile ring until they collided. They would then observe and record data from the collision in hopes of discovering how our universe came to be; a mini big bang per se.
The controversy around said L.H.C. was that it could by off chance create a black hole, strange matter, or some other odd thing that would bring around the end of society and earth as we know it.
Well who’s laughing now, over a week after the L.H.C. was turned on and we’re still here.

Article 1: Earth Will Survive After All, Physicists Say
By Dennis Overbye
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/21/science/21cernw.html?ex=1371700800&en=9a049827dbee8e7b&ei=5124&partner=digg&exprod=digg

Article 2: At the Heart of all Matter
By Joel Achenbach
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/03/god-particle/achenbach-text/1

Why did it matter to you?

To me it was an interesting thing to read about. I found the debates resulting from the L.H.C. more interesting then I did the actually possibilities the collider could present for science. I’m not all too excited about knowing how we came to be, nor is my brain even capable of understanding the possible results, I’m perfectly happy enjoying my life as it is. At times there are some things we shouldn’t know, I’m not sure if the same could be applied to a recreation of the big bang, but someone can let me know when they release their findings.

Why should it matter to us?

In a way it might not matter to the average person. The average person will most likely not understand the results of the L.H.C. That’s why before it was turned on a decent amount of people were debating about black holes and strange matter bringing around the end of everything. It is natural to fear what you don’t understand. Considering the scientists who created it themselves are merely running on theories, how much would the average person understand? That’s a lot to worry about. But in the end what is and has science been but a bunch of theories?

What effect will it have on people in general?

As for people in general, the repercussions on both sides of the project are huge, on one end we get destroyed, end of story. But if the experiment does succeed the results are boundless. Our current electronics such as laptops and Ipods run from technology derived from similar scientific experiments of a smaller scale then the L.H.C.

Is it “Revolutionary?”

Absolutely, what scientists find from the experiment should it continue as planned can be used in so many ways. But as well it will all come down to how it is used. Science is merely a tool used by man, so whether good or bad, the results will be revolutionary. We could be on the way to making technology superior to our own in the far off future to help in our daily lives. Or we could create weapons meant to destroy one another on a scale entirely leagues ahead of the atom bomb, yikes. The L.H.C will revolutionize the world, one way or another.