The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) apparently contains the worlds most powerful superconducting magnet with the mission to crack the proton and find the 'God Particle'. This 'God Particle' is supposed to be what gives matter mass.

I knew when I saw this article in the Metro nearly two years ago, that it was worth cutting out and keeping. Coincidentally at the time, I had recently read Dan Brown's sci-fi novel Angels and Demons which talked about creating matter from anti-matter. That is basically creating something from nothing, a la 'the Big Bang' style!

Reports this morning, daily tabloids etc... all reported how this machine had been switched for the first time today and will be tested on 21 October 2008. (Why that particular date??) Doomsday conspiracy theories have reported that the machine has the capacity to create low velocity micro black holes that could grow in mass or release dangerous radioactive emissions.

Some pro lobbyists argue that creating antimatter could become a source of energy and would be the future answer to our energy needs. But wouldn't that only be possible if you happened to find a large amount of antimatter lying around somewhere (like in a distant galaxy) in the same way we find oil and oxygen lying around on Earth? Admittedly though, the propensity to discover and learn if all goes well is real enough and the possibilites may be endless.

Question is - Do we really need to harness the atom? Can we trust that those who attempt to have our best interests at heart? All this electromagnetic, proton poking malarkey has got me doing a big song and nuetron dance!
Lets not even get started on 2012's Photonic Shift!! Sheeesh!!

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