Big bang day
Particle physics is the supermodel of the science world, and today was the opening of its New York fashion week.
With the first test run of the Large Hadron Collider today at CERN, popular attention is once again focused on the chic but totally unwearable Standard Model with its attention grabbing quarks, ruched gluons and oh-so-stylish boson tulle.
It reads much like Doc's description of his flux capacitor: prior to being injected into the main accelerator the protons enter a series of devices which successively increase their energy; first it's a linear accelerator, then a Proton Synchrotron Booster which feeds the Proton Syncrotron and last (but definitely not least!) the Super Proton Synchroton. Can anyone say 1.21 gigawatts?
But who can fail to be captivated by a device designed to answer such questions as: What gives rise to gravity (or do Higgs boson particles really exist)? Do particles have supersymmetry? Are there extra dimensions such as those predicted by String theory? When will short hem lines come back in? And what, exactly, is the nature of dark matter?
Yes, there is a small chance these experiments will inadvertently open up a wormhole and cause a rip in the time space continuum, but I think the standard advice applies: if you do find yourself back in time and across the road from your father, mother, or other ascendant, and that person is about to step out in front of a speeding car or face some other kind of immanent nasty end, try to get a hold of their shoes and jacket because I predict vintage is making a comeback.
With the first test run of the Large Hadron Collider today at CERN, popular attention is once again focused on the chic but totally unwearable Standard Model with its attention grabbing quarks, ruched gluons and oh-so-stylish boson tulle.
It reads much like Doc's description of his flux capacitor: prior to being injected into the main accelerator the protons enter a series of devices which successively increase their energy; first it's a linear accelerator, then a Proton Synchrotron Booster which feeds the Proton Syncrotron and last (but definitely not least!) the Super Proton Synchroton. Can anyone say 1.21 gigawatts?
But who can fail to be captivated by a device designed to answer such questions as: What gives rise to gravity (or do Higgs boson particles really exist)? Do particles have supersymmetry? Are there extra dimensions such as those predicted by String theory? When will short hem lines come back in? And what, exactly, is the nature of dark matter?
Yes, there is a small chance these experiments will inadvertently open up a wormhole and cause a rip in the time space continuum, but I think the standard advice applies: if you do find yourself back in time and across the road from your father, mother, or other ascendant, and that person is about to step out in front of a speeding car or face some other kind of immanent nasty end, try to get a hold of their shoes and jacket because I predict vintage is making a comeback.
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