“We fully endorse the conclusions of the LSAG report: there is no basis for any concerns about the consequences of new particles or forms of matter that could possibly be produced at the LHC.”

R. Aleksan et al., the 20 external members of the CERN Scientific Policy Committee, including Prof. Gerard ‘t Hooft, Nobel Laureate in Physics.

“Those who have doubts about LHC safety should read the LSAG report where all possible risks were considered. We can be sure that particle collisions at the LHC  cannot lead to catastrophic consequences.”

Academician V.A. Rubakov, Institute for Nuclear Research, Moscow, and Russian Academy of Sciences

(from http://public.web.cern.ch/public/en/lhc/safety-en.html).

The LSAG (LHC Safety Assessment Group) report is here if you are wondering. It includes statements such as: Specifically, we study the possible production at the LHC of hypothetical objects such as vacuum bubbles, magnetic monopoles, microscopic black holes and strangelets, and find no associated risks.

Steve Nerlich (Space Settlement Board member and Death-by-LHC skeptic)

** or (as I have been corrected by Robert) that they just don’t care about the safety of the LHC. Sorry — my mistake.

“To think that LHC particle collisions at high energies can lead to dangerous black holes is rubbish. Such rumors were spread by unqualified people seeking sensation or publicity.”

Academician Vitaly Ginzburg, Nobel Laureate in Physics, Lebedev Institute, Moscow, and Russian Academy of Sciences

(from http://public.web.cern.ch/public/en/lhc/safety-en.html).

Steve Nerlich (Space Settlement Board member and Death-by-LHC skeptic)

So, here’s one:

“The operation of the LHC is safe, not only in the old sense of that word, but in the more general sense that our most qualified scientists have thoroughly considered and analyzed the risks involved in the operation of the LHC. [Any concerns] are merely hypothetical and speculative, and contradicted by much evidence and scientific analysis.”

Prof. Sheldon Glashow, Nobel Laureate in Physics, Boston University,

Prof. Frank Wilczek, Nobel Laureate in Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

Prof. Richard Wilson, Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics, Harvard University.

(from http://public.web.cern.ch/public/en/lhc/safety-en.html).

Steve Nerlich (Space Settlement Board member and Death-by-LHC skeptic)

With some help from colleagues, I recently produced a 365 Days of Astronomy podcast on why anti-CERN conspiracy theories about the LHC creating Earth-swallowing black holes really don’t make much sense.

The transcript is also available for reading on the 365 Days site if you are not a podcast fan.

Thanks

Steve Nerlich (Space Settlement Board member and Death-by-LHC skeptic)

The Don Quijote mission — so we don’t go the same way as the dinosaurs.

With some help from colleagues, I recently produced a report on the planned European Space Agency Don Quijote mission to divert an asteroid’s trajectory (kind of a test-run for the real thing that may happen some time in the future) as a 365 Days of Astronomy podcast.

It is reassuring to see humanity beginning to deal with this genuine risk to Earth’s survival  — just in case we don’t all get swallowed up in a 2cm black hole in the next five years wink

The transcript is also available for reading on the 365 Days site if you are not a podcast fan.

Thanks

Steve Nerlich (Space Settlement Board member and Death-by-LHC skeptic)

Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt and Adam Riess will share the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics.

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2011 has been awarded “for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae” acknowledging the amazing discovery announced in 1998 that — based on the measured velocities of Type 1a supernovae — the rate of the universe’s expansion is increasing over time. The prize will be shared by three astronomers, now officially ‘outstanding in their field’, Saul Perlmutter of UC Berkeley, Brian P. Schmidt of the Australian National University and Adam G. Riess of Johns Hopkins University.

Announced on Tuesday 4 October 2011, this was the second of this year’s Nobel prizes awarded. On Monday, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Bruce Beutler, Jules Hoffmann and Ralph Steinman (sadly deceased).

The Nobel prizes are handed out annually for achievements in science, literature, economics and peace. All but one of the prizes (economics) were established in the will of the 19th century millionaire Alfred Nobel, who made much of his fortune from the invention of dynamite.

The Nobel prizes have been awarded since 1901. Each prize consists of a medal, a personal diploma and a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (about 1.46 million U.S. dollars). The economics award was established by Sweden’s central bank in 1968.

Half of the cash component of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics will go to Perlmutter who is reported to have first commenced work on determining cosmological expansion from supernovae data in 1988. Schmidt who headed another team commencing similar work in 1994 and Riess who made a key contribution to that team will share the remainder.

Given the interest of this blog in all things CERN, here’s my take on the recent OPERA/CGNS beam findings — where neutrinos were measured as travelling faster than light (FTL). My article is published on Universe Today — a moderated science blog.

Like LHC-will-destroy-the-Earth theories, the FTL finding is probably a load of old bollocks since it conflicts with core principles of modern physics - but the science team has provided a detailed paper with all their data, assumptions and calculations available for public scrutiny and comment - to enable everyone to get to the bottom of the problem. Very professional and appropriate practice — they are CERN scientists after all.

I hope this may be of interest.

Steve Nerlich (Space Settlement Board member and death-by-LHC skeptic)

My esteemed colleague the Ordinary Guy from the Brains Matter podcast and I recorded a 365 days podcast for 8 September 2011 - talking about saving the world through science education and research, as well considering issues of cheap telescopes and the George Foreman grill.

The 365 days of astronomy podcast is a not-for-profit user driven science communication initiative — in its third year now, but it may be on its last legs. If you have a burning desire to create 10 minutes of audio on a space science-related podcast, this may be your last chance.

And a big woo-hoo to the Lifeboat Foundation for a whopping $250 donation to keep the 365 days podcast going — at least for the rest of 2011.

Cheers,

Steve

(Member of the Board and Death-by-LHC skeptic)

It’s been operational for three years now after all.

So, here is another Universe Today article (a moderated science blog) about why the LHC can be expected to continue not destroying the Earth for many years to come.

Steve Nerlich
Member of the Board