Why we spend money on things like the LHC

[billvon 2,428]

The LHC (large hadron collider) was astoundingly expensive, and one of the criticisms of the project was that it was built just to find the Higgs - and is finding one new particle really worth nine billion dollars?

And if that were the only thing it was designed to do, that would be a pretty powerful argument against spending all that money. But often the most valuable thing a new scientific instrument does is to find things you are _not_ expecting.

And they just found something very strange.

================
Physicists Announce Inexplicable Particle
Thu, 04/10/2014

Since the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012, physicists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the gigantic particle accelerator outside Geneva, have suffered a bit of a drought when it comes to finding new particles. In a welcome relief, the the most genuinely exciting observations to come out of the 27 km super-collider so far – an exotic particle that cannot be explained by current theories.
================

http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2014/04/physicists-announce-inexplicable-particle?et_cid=3876459&et_rid=45537935&type=headline

[ryoder 1,398]

But it *still* hasn't split the beer atom.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[billvon 2,428]

>But it *still* hasn't split the beer atom.

That's because it's a beer MOLECULE. With one atom of maltium, one or two atoms of hopium, and a few atoms of alcoholon. Now, split the maltium atom and you'd be looking at a Nobel prize (and a whole new way to make Miller Lite.)

[Andy9o8 0]

But what happens if maltium collides with antimaltium?

[mrubin 0]

Andy9o8

But what happens if maltium collides with antimaltium?

Coors Light.

"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

[dpreguy 14]

Bud Light. No aftertaste, because there was no taste to begin with.

[oldwomanc6 38]

Vanilla Ovaltine.

Which is a big black hole of tastiness.

lisa
WSCR 594
FB 1023
CBDB 9

[lawrocket 3]

This is pretty cool.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[PLFKING 3]

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(and a whole new way to make Miller Lite.)

Cheaper just to give the horse more water.


Don

"When in doubt I whip it out,
I got me a rock-and-roll band.
It's a free-for-all."

[quade 3]

$9B to explore the unknown and get another step closer to learning how the universe works vs . . . how much did that war in Iraq cost in terms of blood and treasure?

Seems like a pretty easy calculation to make to me.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[adamUK 3]

Let's not forget the R&D and technology developed to detect such particles. I went to a talk last year from the guy who was working on the ATLAS detector. The huge amounts of radiation developed during each test meant that they were coming up with some pretty innovative means of shielding... it's stuff like this that then can get used in other industrial applications.

[adamUK 3]

Let's not forget the R&D and technology developed to detect such particles. I went to a talk last year from the guy who was working on the ATLAS detector. The huge amounts of radiation developed during each test meant that they were coming up with some pretty innovative means of shielding... it's stuff like this that then can get used in other industrial applications.

[zoobrothertom 5]

Andy9o8

But what happens if maltium collides with antimaltium?

It becomes on of those near-beerions.

____________________________________
I'm back in the USA!!

[riddler 0]

How could we NOT spend money in pursuit of understanding the universe? We are the only creatures on the planet that can reason at this level.

What gets me is how much more money we spend destroying ourselves, rather than trying to achieve greater things.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[Andy9o8 0]

riddler

How could we NOT spend money in pursuit of understanding the universe?

Ah, but we do: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Office_of_Faith-Based_and_Neighborhood_Partnerships

[Boogers 0]

quade

$9B to explore the unknown and get another step closer to learning how the universe works vs . . . how much did that war in Iraq cost in terms of blood and treasure?

Seems like a pretty easy calculation to make to me.

Yeah, the freedom of 25 million people isn't important at all compared to a bosun or two.

[quade 3]

Boogers

***$9B to explore the unknown and get another step closer to learning how the universe works vs . . . how much did that war in Iraq cost in terms of blood and treasure?

Seems like a pretty easy calculation to make to me.

Yeah, the freedom of 25 million people isn't important at all compared to a bosun or two.

First of all, most bosuns I've known are little more than seagoing janitors. Very few with any nautical skills at all.

Second . . . FREEDOM . . . in Iraq? Really?

Geebus. We really freedom-bombed those guys pretty hard. But I'm sure they're all 100% grateful.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Andy9o8 0]

Boogers

***$9B to explore the unknown and get another step closer to learning how the universe works vs . . . how much did that war in Iraq cost in terms of blood and treasure?

Seems like a pretty easy calculation to make to me.

Yeah, the freedom of 25 million people isn't important at all compared to a bosun or two.

It's all a question of how to divide our pie, Big Guy. Your side has generally won that debate since 1946, BTW. That's why we've got military assets to project power into Third World countries 10,000 miles away from home, and to provide Western Europeans (et al.) with their security umbrella so ALL OF THEM can afford to have have their national health care regardless of employment status, while under- or self-employed Americans have had to choose between the doctor or paying the rent. But hey, "Freedom" is a buzz-word that gives everyone a stiffy, so that's all that matters.

3...2....1...... [I didn't start it]

[StreetScooby 5]

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And they just found something very strange.

Wonderful!!! Real science in action.

Quote

“Young man, if I could remember the names of these particles, I would have been a botanist.”
- Enrico Fermi

ROFLMAO!

We are all engines of karma

[StreetScooby 5]

Quote

That's because it's a beer MOLECULE.

Why would you split that?

We are all engines of karma

[StreetScooby 5]

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It becomes on of those near-beerions....

You owe me a new computer screen, ...still wiping up the mess from me laughing so hard...

We are all engines of karma

[StreetScooby 5]

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That's why we've got military assets to project power into Third World countries 10,000 miles away from home, and to provide Western Europeans (et al.) with their security umbrella so ALL OF THEM can afford to have have their national health care regardless of employment status,

Andy, you seem awfully conservative today. You feeling ok?

We are all engines of karma

[Andy9o8 0]

StreetScooby

Quote

That's why we've got military assets to project power into Third World countries 10,000 miles away from home, and to provide Western Europeans (et al.) with their security umbrella so ALL OF THEM can afford to have have their national health care regardless of employment status,

Andy, you seem awfully conservative today. You feeling ok?

Hey, I'm all for tax n' spend. I just wanna spend it on US!

[mistercwood 287]

StreetScooby

Quote

That's because it's a beer MOLECULE.

Why would you split that?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apj4QSN8XQY

You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

[kallend 1,647]

Boogers

***$9B to explore the unknown and get another step closer to learning how the universe works vs . . . how much did that war in Iraq cost in terms of blood and treasure?

Seems like a pretty easy calculation to make to me.

Yeah, the freedom of 25 million people isn't important at all compared to a bosun or two.

What do you have against bosuns? Did a sailor scare you?

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.