Scientists in Switzerland recently started a massive experiment that is designed to unlock some of the secrets of the universe. Their carefully controlled experiment is going on more than 100 metres below the ground on the border between Switzerland and France.
The whole thing takes place in a huge metal ring shaped like a doughnut which is housed in an enormous tunnel measuring 17 miles in diameter. The whole thing will be kept at the lowest temperature possible, absolute zero (minus 271 degrees centigrade). What they have done is to spin protons (the smallest know particles) around at speeds just below the speed of light. The different streams of these will be crashed together and theoretically, the debris produced will provide scientific evidence of what makes up a proton.
However, no one knows what will happen. It may not be possible to 'smash' protons and perhaps nothing will happen, but there are those who fear that this is an unsafe scientific experiment and may cause black holes, or even the end of the world in a chain reaction set of events.
Scientific opinion varies too, with one German Chemist, Professor Otto Rossler expressing the fear that black holes created by this experiment will grow and literally 'swallow the earth from the inside', but those involved in the project claim that they have considered everything carefully and that there is absolutely no risk to the planet, or the wider universe.
This begs the question, of course, if scientists don't know what will happen if they split protons into smaller pieces, or even if it can be done, how can they know that it is safe? They were not sure what would happen when they first split the atom and nuclear power was unleashed and what was supposed to be controlled soon became unmanageable.
In countries all over the world pressure groups have tried to stop this project which is being conducted by scientists from many different countries Prayers have been said by some religious groups and fears for the very existence of our planet were expressed. Some of these people were adamant that this experiment, because it is designed to reproduce the 'big bang' that science theorizes was the very start of our solar system, could bring about the end of the world.
No results of this experiment will be available for about three months, so the general public are unlikely to be told if anything major resulted from the experiment before then.
Scientists still reassure the public that this is a completely safe procedure and that there will be no major repercussions but the truth of the matter is that they really don't know what will happen. Past history has proved beyond doubt that when scientists say everything is under control we should suspect the opposite. Nuclear reactors are a prime example of this and places like Chernobyl have already paid the price.
