Education Law

Breaking open the unknown universe

BoardBuzz enjoys science. And with so much attention being paid by school boards and others on the need to beef up science and math instruction and get kids more excited about these fields, we want to do our little part to help ratchet up the excitement.

We recently read an excellent article from Popular Science on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The LHC is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator complex, intended to collide opposing beams of protons. It was built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), and lies underneath the Franco-Swiss border between the Jura Mountains and the Alps near Geneva, Switzerland.

You may have heard about the LHC already. Of course, if you did read or hear something, it probably involved some crazy fringe theory about black holes destroying the earth. The media love a good doomsday story. These threats have been discounted by the scientists at CERN, and by most physicists around the world. Stephen Hawking had this to say: "The world will not come to an end when the LHC turns on. The LHC is absolutely safe." He also said the LHC is "vital if the human race is not to stultify and eventually die out." So maybe it is a life or death experiment after all...

A far cry from the media hype, Popular Science provides a brighter view:

The most powerful and complex science experiment in the history of the universe is finally?after 14 years and $10 billion?about to begin. There?s no telling what it may find, and that?s entirely the point.

Science for the sake of science. Now that's what we're talking about. Yes, our understanding of the universe is about to change. Or so we hope. The crux is that we think we know what will happen when protons are accelerated to .999c (the speed of light) and smashed together. Many theorists hope to discover the missing particle called the Higgs boson. The Higgs boson explains why mass exists, and its discovery would complete the Standard Model of the universe, which describes everything yet known.

Another possibility is that we may witness the creation of dark matter, something that astronomers would celebrate since our universe seems to be riddled with mass of unknown origin and composition. Yet another possibility, is that we'll find something new. We'll learn we were wrong or observe something unexpected. In truth, the CERN scientists hope to be surprised.

As the Popular Science article describes:

The history of science is one of hubris. We think we have the natural world pretty much figured out, we think that our theories are pretty darn solid?and then someone does an innocent little experiment, and much to everyone's surprise, reveals the unfathomable. Never have scientists so self-consciously courted the unknown as they are doing with the LHC. No one thinks the Standard Model will end up being the whole story of the universe, despite its innumerable successes in explaining the world. Physicists know there is more out there, just beyond our reach. "I think of things for the experiments to look for," says John Ellis, "and hope they find something different."

Even Hawking is betting that we don't find the Higgs boson! Everyone is hopeful that the experiments will have ancillary benefits. Experts argue that the LHC could lead to medical and technological advances. It's happened before.

BoardBuzz suggests you check out the full article. If you're looking for lighter fare, PhD Comics provides a uniquely entertaining look at the LHC.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on September 15, 2008 (boomark / email).