Scientific research is impossible without experimental verification. This applies to all areas of science, in particular to the science of the world around us - physics. The late 19th - early 20th century was the most brilliant period for physics. Almost all modern physics was born at that time, the horizons of mankind have expanded so much that it seemed that a theory was about to be built, explaining absolutely all processes in the world.
But, alas, it quickly became clear that the laws of the micro- and macrocosm are not only very different, but sometimes contradict each other within the framework of one theory. Roughly speaking, the laws that apply to stars and galaxies do not apply to protons and electrons. The consequence of this phenomenon was not just a narrow specialization of physicists, but also very prejudiced views of the supporters of one theory towards the admirers of another.
At the end of the twentieth century, the so-called "standard model" was proposed in the camp of nuclear physicists - a collection of laws and rules of behavior for all kinds of elementary particles. The model immediately had a huge number of supporters and everyone began to say that it was she who was the key to understanding everything. The fact that the model did not take into account one of the fundamental influences at all - gravity, did not bother anyone.
It was decided to urgently conduct experiments to test this model, which was done. Although all of them confirmed the model, they gave slightly different results. Then it was proposed to make a huge particle accelerator, larger than everything that had been done before and to test everything on it. This idea was expressed back in 1984, however, no one was willing to build such a giant (called the Large Hadron Collider, or LHC).
For ten years, the authors of the project ran and looked for sponsors and potential contractors. Finally, in May 1994, the project was approved. However, they were in no hurry to build it. The fact is that in the mid-90s, another fundamental interaction was found - dark energy, and in 1998 the relationship between dark energy and dark matter was confirmed. None of this was foreseen in the standard model, and the fate of the huge experimental accelerator generally hung in the balance. Indeed, why build a huge colossus, which is not just 15 years behind its theory, and even the theory turned out to be completely "incomplete".
However, the project was lucky. First, the leadership at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) has changed. And secondly, experiments at the electron-positron collider have been successfully completed. It was dismantled, thereby freeing the tunnel to accommodate the LHC. The construction of the monster and its testing at low energies lasted about 8 years. There were accidents and emergency situations, however, human casualties were avoided.
And here the real devilry began. Of the majority of the planned experiments, only two were succeeded: the discovery of the Higgs boson and the repetition of obtaining the top quark (by the way, obtained 15 years earlier in the USA at a facility 50 times smaller than the LHC). On this, the modest list of LHC achievements is considered complete. All other results are limited to only modest ones: "model parameters have been specified," "masses have been specified," and so on. It's somehow strange to observe such sluggish results from such an ambitious project. Given that, since 2014, the LHC has been operating at full capacity (and this is about 200 MW of energy - the consumption of an average city) without any interruptions.
What experiments are being carried out at the LHC that are not reported to the general public? The fact is that it is impossible even to get to this object for excursion purposes. Not to mention the fact that to carry out some experiments on it, even coordinated with CERN. One gets the impression that either the LHC is used as a screen for some machinations, or the experiments performed on it pose a threat to humanity and it is better not to inform the public about them.
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One of the options for such experiments is the production of microscopic black holes. A black hole is an object that draws in the surrounding matter, preventing anything from leaving it. Each time it absorbs matter, the black hole increases in size and the force of its attraction becomes larger, it absorbs even more matter, and so on, increasing. Despite the fact that the existence of microscopic black holes is very short and theoretically they will not have time to absorb anything before evaporating, I do not think that any of the inhabitants of the Earth would even like to conduct such an experiment on their home planet.
Another collider experiment can be no less dangerous. Its essence lies in the fact that hypothetically it is possible to synthesize a substance consisting of s-quarks. Its main feature is that when combined with any other substance, it turns it into the so-called "strange substance", which has an excess of these quarks. Thus, all the substance of our planet (including ourselves) can turn into one giant molecule of this "strange substance".
Well, the classic versions of the apocalypse, starting with a collider, can be antimatter flows escaping from its core, capable of destroying all life within a radius of several kilometers and causing a series of chain reactions that can destroy the entire Earth …
According to the estimates of many scientists, these options, although they have a place to be, are still unlikely. The same Stephen Hawking believes that to create a black hole that we could fix, we need energy that is about three orders of magnitude (that is, a thousand times) greater than what the LHC is capable of producing. On the other hand, Rutherford and Einstein were also mistaken, planning the timing of the development of atomic energy by mankind only in the 21st century.
Be that as it may, the Collider now raises many questions and perplexing intonations in judgments. There is either a grandiose machination of the scientific world, or some unpleasant surprise prepared for mankind by the learned fraternity. Even supporters of its construction are a little perplexed about the paucity of scientific results, and the most restless are already aiming at building a more powerful collider, about 100 km in diameter …
Afterword. It is rumored that the creator of that very electron-positron accelerator, which was located in the tunnel before the LHC was placed there, suggested that CERN, after the end of the experiments at the LHC, disassemble it and re-install its device in the tunnel, since with a small modification it will perform all the functions of the LHC with much less cost. CERN agreed, or rather, considers it as one of the options.