If you follow either the worlds of physics or the worlds of conspiracy theories, you know that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) started this month. Shortly after an uneventful beginning (uneventful in that the world did not end, apparently to the chagrin of those supporting lawsuits to stop it from starting, who then said they knew it would not end until next year anyway) the computer system was invaded by hackers, an electrical transformer fault happened and then a 'magnetic quench' occurred.
Immediately, people who know of a colloquial definition of the word 'quench' assumed this meant helium had exploded all over, drenching the place in dangerous chemicals and the European version of the Men In Black had swooped in to cover it all up.
It's nothing as exciting as all that - though the idea that a clandestine organization could somehow exist in the EU bureaucracy would make for a great story.
Forget what the LHC may do, here is what it does
A lot of attention has been focused on what the Large Hadron Collider may do. People who promised that it would make Europe the world leader in physics have made all kinds of grand speculations about discovering mystery particles that no one even knows exists but that would be a nice solution to some puzzles in physics - like the Higgs Boson.(*)
On the other side, one well-regarded scientist who happened to make some algebra mistakes was cited by a whole lot of people who didn't want to wait for the Mayan end of the world in 2012 for their own made-up physics miracle -strangelets and black holes consuming the world. Seriously. There's even a video:
So, ignoring the hype and the hysteria, what will it really do?
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), is essentially a 17 mile long particle accelerator - that's it. It's not the first particle accelerator, it's the newest iteration.
NOTES:
(*) Not to mention the whole structure of the universe (if that exists), the nature of dark energy (if that exists) and superstrings (if those exist) - basically, if you were a European politician with any role in getting this funded, someone said this might find it.
