[Zenith77]

Originally Posted by allenwr I am not only interested in what the machine does, but the fact that the machine worked on their first try amazes me. An aritical I read discussing the Chicago particle accelerator talked about how a neutron went off path and went out a side of the machine causing some damage.

The machine is designed well, to accelerate particles. The difference between this and others is that:

1) It does it at 99% the speed of light.
2) It's designed to read all the data generated during a particle collision at this speed. This data will be used to test our current atomic model.
3) Other tests that can't be done with machines.

Basically recreating conditions millseconds after the Big Bang occured.

And during the test runs today, one the beams released some energy in the ATLAS detector meaning that it did hit something (although nothing major happened), IIRC, but a little bit of calibration fixed it.

[allenwr]

I mis-typed what I had meant, my fault. What I was meaning is that I know what the machine did, I have been watching science channel shows on it for a while. But when I read that they had not only got it right but most of the systems preformed very well was really intriguing.

I guess that the reason why I find it so amazing is the fact that scientist from multiple countries and languages were able to work so well together, while NASA can't even convert the metric system.

I believe their first test today was at 50% capacity correct?

[Zenith77]

Originally Posted by allenwr I believe their first test today was at 50% capacity correct?

I believe so, but I do recall one of the reporters stating that it was going at full speed on one of the second runs. But, that was just a reporter talking so you never know. I highly doubt they went full speed on the first day.

And yea, I agree. It's pretty amazing that the machine worked so well on the first day, with relatively few problems. Also, don't knock NASA (when you mention NASA, I am assuming you are also generalizing about other head scientific institutions in the U.S.) off like that, the U.S. contributed more than it's fair share to the LHC project .

[allenwr]

Haha I was knocking NASA some, but in all honesty, over the years NASA has done some amazing stuff as well. So anything I say is instantly nulled by the fact that I have not nor will do anything they have done.

I look forward to the next test(s) and the grand test of smashing two particles into one and another.

[Lee]

I'm no scientist, but I predict they won't find the Higgs boson. Come back in a few months to see if my mind is worth that of eight thousand physicists and billions of euros or maybe I'm just an idiot.

In before quoting "I'm just an idiot".

[Zenith77]

Originally Posted by Lee I'm no scientist, but I predict they won't find the Higgs boson. Come back in a few months to see if my mind is worth that of eight thousand physicists and billions of euros or maybe I'm just an idiot. In before quoting "I'm just an idiot".

There is a reasonable chance they won't find it, but current trends (i.e. how everything else in the Standard Model has been found) say other wise.

[allenwr]

Originally Posted by Zenith77 There is a reasonable chance they won't find it, but current trends (i.e. how everything else in the Standard Model has been found) say other wise.

Even if they don't find what they are looking for, they are going to find something as they start smashing subatomic particles.

Wow, can you believe how fast we have come in science? 100 years* ago they were just starting to actually identify the atom, 50 years* ago they learned to split the atom and now in this century we have started to split the subatomic particles. Where do we go next?

* actual time is poorly rounded off.

[Exolent[jNr]]

Splitting sub-sub-atomic particles?

[grimvh2]

What does it matter if humand kind dies in a few days ore in the next 1000 (I dont guess more)

[allenwr]

Originally Posted by grimvh2 What does it matter if humand kind dies in a few days ore in the next 1000 (I dont guess more)

I'm sorry, but did you just type what ever came to your mind? Can you think before you type? We were not discussing the end of humanity, but the progress of our science in understanding our universe.