Tuesday, December 01, 2009

That Pesky Time Warp Thing

This is actually old news, but it's so cool I had to share, just in case you missed it.

You know the new Large Hadron Collider, the one that some thought might create a black hole that would eat the planet? Well, things have gotten even stranger.

A pair of well-respected physicists recently published papers suggesting that the machine may be sabotaged by (buckle up, kids) its own future.

I won't even pretend to understand this well enough to explain it, but it has to do with the quest for the Higgs Boson, A.K.A. "The God Particle" and the possibility that it may not want to be found. Which would be a real bummer, since that's the purpose of the whole thing.

For the details, click this link to The Telegraph article.

Stuff like this just makes my day.

7 comments:

Char said...

I went to read the article. It's all so over my head. But isn't it all somewhat scary. Do they really think it is destroying itself, on purpose? If so, I'm thinking maybe they should just leave it alone.

MyMaracas said...

Char, apparently at least two credible researches think it is, yes. Actually, its future self is destroying it ... the Higgs Boson it will discover in the future is destroying the machine in our present. I think.

Liz said...

I will never believe the future will do anything but invite us to learn.
If you want to look for a destroyer of that process then look no further... it is here, now, in the present and if you want proof of that then look into the past that will furnish enough evidence through those that suffered for the discovery of the truth in their time.

Daryl said...

And LOST doesn't begin its last season til January ...

Rambling Woods said...

I went to the website and remembered that I saw a story about this on one of the news magazine. I do like Sci-fi and hope this is Sci-fi... Michelle

MyMaracas said...

"People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion." -- Albert Einstein.

It's tough to believe that cause and effect can ripple both ways through time, but physicists are pretty sure that it can, under the right conditions. Like maybe in the heart of a supercollider.

... And LOST isn't back until January LOL

Sallyacious said...

Even some philosophers believe that time only exists because of the linear direction of human thought and consciousness. So I suppose this is possible. Isn't time travel one of the accepted aspects of quantum mechanics? It seems like it would be part of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. But that stuff is way beyond my puny understanding.

Though I'd have to know how respected these two fellows are to be able to take them seriously. Are they pretty well-regarded in the field, or are they generally considered to be cranks?