Of course It's me again! Had a question about the assurance of it. (I worry too much)

Anyway after reading up on a site about it, some comments peeked my interest ( worried me for that case! )

"With regards to the LHC collisions being far less powerful than cosmic-ray collisions that have been harmlessly going on for billions of years, who is to know for sure that the particles used/created as part of the experiment are exactly and will behave exactly like cosmic rays?

The safety report on the LHC makes this assumption in many paragraphs and it is one of the points they use to reject the idea that it’s a doomsday device.

Also, if the assumption was proven to be true, the LHC is a far cry from our atmospheric shielding (and maybe manipulation?) of cosmic rays. Reactions within metal shielding could yield very different results."

Was curious if anyone know how big a factor that could have?
And yes I know I have a problem! Just can't seem to not worry!

It's actually the case that we would expect many more possible interactions from cosmic rays than in the LHC experiments (partly because many cosmic rays are much higher energy). So, if it didn't happen in nature, in the billions of years they have been hitting Earth, other worlds, stars, and other massive objects (for instance, neutron stars), there's no reason for it happen at the LHC.


This doesn't make a lot of sense (what matters is particle interaction, not whether the particles are in air or in a chunk of metal) but safety studies didn't just consider Earth, or just the particles striking Earth. They considered the possible effects on other worlds and stars (some with atmosphere, some not, some very dense, some not). So, again, nature provided many more possible interactions than the LHC would.

__________________
I say there is an invisible elf in my backyard. How do you prove that I am wrong?

Disclaimer: Avatar is not an official NASA image and does not imply any specific interplanetary or interstellar capability.

The Leif Ericson Cruiser

Thanks Van, for the response. This is why I love Baut forums, easily understandable explanations.

Yes, there is a long thread, just about this topic (LHC dangers)
Large Hadron Colliders a DANGER??

__________________
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool.
~~~ Richard Feynman ~~~
There is no harm in doubt and skepticism, for it is through these that new discoveries are made.
~~~ Richard Feynman ~~~