Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Syxx_Killer
They spent billions of dollars to try and create a tiny black hole?
|
No.
No black holes are not going to be made. Even if one was, it is doubtful that it would be
stable for any length of time without far more mass/energy than the earth can
provide, let alone the LHC.
They spent billions of dollars to try to find out if they can make a Higgs particle and
on the off chance that we can discover something more about "dark matter".
Higgs:
In short, we have guessed that there is a "Higgs field" in the universe because it
fits our equations well. However, we can not detect it, so we have no empirical
evidence for it.
Instead of detecting the Field, we hope to prove the fields existence by detecting
it's particle as all fields have a particle. The Higgs particle must be made as they
disappear very, very quickly in nature. To make a particle all you need is a lot of
concentrated energy. The LHC achieves this by smashing atoms into each other
very fast. The resulting energy creates many types of sub-atomic particles.
Hopefully a Higgs particle will be created if they exist. If we detect the traces left
behind by a newly created Higgs particle as it breaks up we will know that our
current theoretical understanding has not been disproved.
Dark Matter:
We have indirectly observed dark matter quite clearly. We are quite sure it
exists. However, it eludes direct detection. We have several ideas about what
kind of particle(s) make up dark matter and how those particles interact with
more well known particles. The LHC
might provide some data about dark matter.
Most likely indirectly via unexplained loss of energy or mass in the collisions.
The above is a very, very brief overview and there are lots more things that the
LHC might suprise us with, but it will be several years yet before we know.