Antimatter Science - The Reality Behind Angels and Demons
Thursday May 21, 2009
The movie "Angels and Demons" is concerned with a plot to destroy the Vatican with antimatter created by CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The National Science Foundation hosted a video teleconference featuring world-renowned physicists Rolf-Dieter Heuer (director-general, CERN), Leon Lederman (Nobel laureate and author), and Boris Kayser (physicist at Fermilab and chair of the American Physical Society's Division on Particle Physics). The scientists described the goals of the LHC and discussed the real science behind the movie. I learned a lot of interesting things:
- Have you ever wondered what scientists think of books and movies that feature their labs and research? All of the scientists on this panel felt public exposure to science was a positive thing, that it generated interest in scientific topics and led to discussion about the impact and value of scientific discoveries. Authors and filmmakers often approach scientists and labs to discuss story ideas and to verify facts. That interaction is welcomed.
- So... what about this black hole? Rumor has it the LHC could generate a black hole that would suck up the world. It's fantasy, not reality. Antimatter-matter reactions are nothing new. If you've ever had a PET (positron emission tomography) scan, you've had a firsthand encounter with antimatter. Antimatter exists naturally in very small amounts; we have had the ability to create more for quite a while. That said, scientists take public concerns and fears very seriously. Movies like Angels and Demons bring those fears out into the open so people can talk about them and get reliable information so they can separate fact from fiction.
- In the movie, a pair of researchers discuss settling a disagreement by picking up the phone and having the CERN director resolve their differences. Could that actually happen? Yes, the scientists at CERN have access to its Director, though they are generally encouraged to go through proper channels to resolve disputes.
- Do they use retinal scanners at CERN to verify the identities of researchers and to control access to sensitive labs? Yes, they do. CERN uses state-of-the-art security systems.
- Would the amount of antimatter shown in the movie really produce a 5 kiloton explosion? Basically yes. That much antimatter would produce a 5.7 kiloton explosion. However, it would take CERN about a million years to produce that much antimatter, so antimatter would not be useful as a weapon. By the same token, antimatter would not make an efficient energy source.
- What are scientists hoping to find using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)? If the Standard Model of physics is correct, the LHC may allow scientists to detect the Higgs boson. Even if the Higgs boson is not found, the LHC will be like looking through a microscope after only having the power of a magnifying class... so much more of the subatomic world will be visible that the discoveries are unimaginable. Rolf-Dieter Heuer thought perhaps the LHC might help us to understand dark matter, the stuff that makes up 95% of the universe. At the present time we do not know what dark matter is, only what it is not.
Comments
I liked this article and agree with the scientific tone/approach used. However, I take issue with your second bulleted item, for the opposite reason–opinion was inserted. The safety of LHC is not related to PET scans and is not a function of movie spin. There is nothing trivial about LHC; undeniably it is the largest most powerful thing even builty by humanity. Just as guns can serve a useful purpose when treated with caution and respect, so too is the case with LHC. The true danger comes when one trivializes risks and then proceeds cavelierly. Most gun accidents were never intended.
I say this not without just cause. I am the author of a lens-changing model that is in total complience with the data and possesses no paradoxical conflicts (as are common within popular-bias assumption held by the traditional rote of cosmology.) What this also means is that if the new model is correct, then LHC scientists are working off a false set of assumptions. Consider what happens to folks handling a gun under a false set of assumptions.
See for yourself, follow as the entire model is unfolded, join in if you feel one of the model’s moves is not justified. http://hypography.com/forums/alternative-theories/18910-the-dominium-model-by-hasanuddin.html