What happens when science goes wrong, and humankinds technological hubris causes global calamity?
Usually, the credits roll, these types of scenarios are almost always science fiction.
The team did some quick math and decided it wasnt likely, and that was the end of that.
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The same thing happened when the Large Hadron Collider went online back in 2008.
Scientistsstoked the medias curiosityby positing the labs potential ability to create microscopic black holes.
Could these black holes destroy the planet?
Are we in trouble?
Of course, the answer to those questions was and remains a very strong: almost certainly not.
Maybe the LHC will eventually create microscopic black holes and maybe it wont.
So, there you have it.
You have almost nothing to fear from black holes.
Of course, almost nothing isnt the same asabsolutelynothing.
The most commonly-cited reason why the LHC is unlikely to produce a dangerousblack holeis thatit doesnt have enough power.
But what if we imagine a super large collider capable of generating a dangerous amount of power?
Scientists currently useblack hole analogsto study quantum gravitational effects.
Unfortunately for our purposes, these usually involve lasers, cold atoms, and weird metals.
then well have to think much, much bigger.
The stars mass becomes so densely-packed that it begins to take on exotic properties.
But a star has to be pretty massive for that to happen.
Its difficult to imagine such a thing happening on our relatively tiny planet but not impossible.
A cold fusion chain reaction is one possibility.
This harkens back to those not-very-scientific WWII-era concerns about lighting the atmosphere on fire.
In essence, this would be like a miniBig Bang, or many mini-Big Bangs.
Realistically-speaking, there arent many conceivable ways for Earths scientists to do that much damage.
Dont let that get you down though.
A hundred years ago, the LHC would have seemed like science fiction.
