Fire it up… for Science!

Maki — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:57:06 +0000

As of yesterday, in the early morn, the Large Hadron Collider successfully fired its ‘First Beam’. Whats that mean? It means that the world enlightening/destroying supercollider shot a single particle around its 27km course. People all over the world could witness the test via satellite or web-cast. Alas, yours truly had to work that morning. DAMMIT!!!

‘Doesn’t that mean it works?’

Not quite, Timmy. They still have to test all the other beams and then get them to collide. I don’t know about you, but I miss the garbage can now and then and these guys are trying to make atoms collide. So they still have some work cut out for them. But this means we’re still good to go on the October launch of this possible mind blowing particle accelerator.

For more about this historic event follow these links:

LHC on Current

The CERN website

The CERN compound as seen from orbit (Note that the collider ring follows a 17 mile course underground, crossing the French and Swiss borders. If you look around you can find various outposts along the route)

The LHC live webcam

And finally… “Has the Large Hadron Collider Destroyed the World Yet.com“

I am the Large Hadron Collider of hip hop.

Maki — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:22:10 +0000

Stumbled upon this earlier today, it seems that when the folks at CERN aren’t too busy trying to kill us all with tiny black holes they’re laying down phat rhymes over funky beats. Not down with the LHC? Fool. It’s the Large Hadron Collider, the largest particle collider ever built. So large is crosses the border between France and Switzerland and its contruction involves the efforts of scientists all over the world, including parts from Fermilabs here in the USA. Scientists predict it will answer some of the most boggling questions about the nature of the universe, as well as shed some light on the behaviors of particles that exist for such a short time they practically don’t exist. The LHC could prove the existence of the Higgs Boson which has yet to be observed, but the current model of physics accounts for. And if it doesn’t? We’d have to totally rethink our understanding of physics! Either way, the discovery would change the way we think (and possibly live!) forever!

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Look at zem. Zey are so TINY. Zey do naaaahhtheeeng!

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Michio Kaku. Theoretical physicist, Japanese man, and a fun-loving guy who likes to freak people out with scientific doomsday scenarios every now and then.

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…he then turns his back and wrings his hands wildly, his laugh rising to a menacing crescendo.

But first, CERN has to finish the damn thing. Since its start, the LHC has seen some setbacks which include a malfunction of one of the focusing magnets during a stress tests. On top of that, apparently people are little worked up over the whole ‘micro black hole’ thing and are trying to get the LHC shut down. For fear it will destroy the world. Theoretical physicist and Bemused Soothsayer Michio Kaku assures us it will do no such thing. He says the same to those who claim the particle collisions will produce particle combinations called strangelets which would turn any matter they touch into strangelets as well. Personally I’m more worried about gray goo.

Anyway. Until its unveiling this October, sit back with some gin and juice and elucidate yourself on the workings of this supercollider, Schoolhouse Rock style. PEACE!!

CERN Rap from Will Barras on Vimeo.

P.S. If you like this, you may want to check out MC Hawking

P.S.S For more about what the LHC might find, I ran into this link this morning.

The Bard » SCIENCE!!

Fire it up… for Science!

I am the Large Hadron Collider of hip hop.