Large Hadron Collider sparks yet more concerns
The official turning-on of the world’s largest particle accelerator is just around the corner. This has sparked fears much like those when the atomic and hydrogen weapons were first tested.
Next week Wednesday is the official date but it seems that there have been test-firings of the accelerator already, with no loss of life to the general population.
While the official date is next week, it will be several weeks before the first collisions of particles occur. In the meantime, there are several petitions and court cases active in a bid to stop the Large Hadron Collider from ever being used.
Two suits are pending, one in the European Court for Human Rights, which maintains that the LHC poses a threat to human life, and another suit filed in Hawaii of all places, trying to shut the LHC down. The USA-filed case has been filed by environmentalists.
Scientists and spokesmen from CERN still maintain that the LHC will not produce anything that is not being routinely made by nature, due to cosmic rays. There is still a chance of discovering microscopic black holes, once the process is in full swing.
Brett Venter
