Large Hadron Collider (LHC) Expectation

[Stonecut]

I figure that many in BAUT forum are as excited as I am with the LHC eventually firing up to its maximum potential. I have read that they are looking for a couple of "Gems" in physics.

1) Higgs Boson
2) Sparticles?
3) ?

Other than filling in many of the gaps in our understanding of the quanta (toward a GUT), what other real life applications can we expect from the results of our new understanding of nature?

Can I assume super conductivity? Levitation? Possibly a untapped energy source? a Complete GUT?

It is said that we can expect major breakthroughs from our current understanding. Its a great time to be alive during this golden age of cosmology!

[EDG]

2) Sparticles?

Do these go around liberating other particles from Roman oppression?

[antoniseb]

Can I assume super conductivity? Levitation? Possibly a untapped energy source? a Complete GUT?

No, those are not too likely to be derived from new data collected by the LHC.
Superconductivity is more of a solid-state phenomenon
Levitation... do you mean antigravity?
Untapped energy sources... dream on
Complete GUT... LHC will probably only observe zero or one type of supersymmetric particle (sparticle), and only give a hint about the whole family, so a GUT is not likely to be built from empirical evidence at LHC.

[folkhemmet]

Indeed, we are in the midst of a golden age of astrophysics. The data-rate is enormous and long-held cherished theories are being tested by a series of increasingly sensitive experiments, the LHC soon to be included. I remember reading an article about the LHC discovery prospects. The article implied that the consensus among physicists seems to be that it is unlikely that no new particles/phenomena will show up at the LHC energies even though we are not absolutely sure what these phenomena will be. In the off chance that nothing new shows up then it would mean, again according to this article, that there is no new physics until the Planck energy which could only be accessed via a particle accelerator the size of our solar system!

As for "real life practical applications", it would be nice if some amazing technology results from LHC science, but I am not sure how many technologies have resulted from particle collider scientific results in the past. I think a lot of the technological innovation comes from just trying to build such a remarkable machine rather than from the scientific results which may come out of it. But one never knows, that's part of the excitement!

[Paracelsus]

I think a lot of people are expecting that LHC will be the first to actually confirm supersymmetry. This may entail confirming the existence of so-called WIMPS (weakly-interacting massive particles), which are the super-symmetric analogs of the proton and are thought to comprise a lot of the so-called 'dark matter' that affects galactic motion, etc. There are also a few other experimental set-ups (one in the US and another in Italy) that are built for the express purpose of detecting WIMPS of cosmic origin.

I don't think that LHC will get up to sufficiently high energies to detect gravitons or confirm any of the theories of quantum gravity, but I'm not sure. If there are any particle physicists on the board, please jump in and correct me, if I have misspoken on this point.

After reading above: Which sparticle were they hoping to visualize? I got the impression from what I've read that they may be able to visualize some components of dark matter. :shrug:

[Stonecut]

Atoniseb, regarding levitation, yes I was referring to anti gravity.

Maybe I am too much the optimist with great expectations with our new "microscope". But I firmly believe that we'll encounter phenomena that has not been thought of.


"Who ordered that?'' exclaimed the theorist Isidor I. Rabi when the muon was identified.

[dgavin]

It's hard to say what will come out of this. If the detectors are good enough maybe some confirmation (or not) of string theory.

[Paracelsus]

Via 'Physorg.com': http://www.physorg.com/news10682.html.

This past December, Joanne Hewett, Thomas Rizzo and student Ben Lillie published an article in Physical Review Letters which shows theoretically how to measure the number of dimensions that comprise the universe. By determining how many dimensions exist, Hewett, Lillie and Rizzo hope to either confirm or repudiate critical string theory under specific conditions...Hewett, Lillie and Rizzo found that if so called micro-black holes, which are smaller than the nucleus of an atom, exist, they can be used to determine the number of extra dimensions. If scientists were to smash two high energy protons together they could theoretically make such a micro-black hole. Such a collision could happen at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which will become operational next year. Once created, the micro-black hole decays quickly and emits over a dozen different kinds of particles such as electrons, neutrinos and photons, which are easy to detect. Using the predicted decay properties of the black hole into neutrinos, Hewett, Lillie and Rizzo solved complex equations to determine if our universe has 10, 11, or more dimensions — perhaps too many dimensions to be explained by critical string theory.

Just for you, Sticks.

Can anyone explain to me how the properties of these neutrinos would indicate the number of dimensions in the universe?

[RobA]

It's not the properties of the neutrinos - it's the number of Black Holes created.

In our every-day outlook of 3 spatial dimensions, gravity decreases proportional to the square of the distance. Current theory is that extra dimensions exist, but are "wrapped up" very small. This means that at small distances, gravity is much weaker than we would expect (since gravity spreads into those dimensions).

The upshot of that is that if extra "wrapped up" dimensions exist, then gravity is weaker, therefore we would expect fewer black-holes to form.

[publiusr]

I just wish SSC had been built. Then too, my idea for a high energy physics lab would be to put all future nuclear power plants needed for americas future energy needs in one state--in a circular formation, and...

[Ross PK81]

Is the world in any danger of this experiment?

I've heard about things like it could create a black hole. Also, is this causing something to happen in the sub atomic world which doesn't naturally happen? This is also what get's me worried, because if it's true something really bad could happen.

Btw, if anyone doesn't know, the experement has been prosponed to early next year. It's was supposed to happen early this month.

[Nowhere Man]

This is a fairly lengthy thread about the LHC and the level of danger we are in.

The danger level is somewhat less than infinitesimal.

Fred