Support NeoGAF

[TheShadowLord]

https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-cern-large-hadron-collider-boring-company-tunnels-2019-1

Scientists have an ambitious new plan to explore the mysteries of the universe, and Elon Musk might be there to help.

The Tesla chief executive said on Twitter that he was approached by research organisation CERN, which houses the world's largest particle accelerator. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is famous for facilitating the discovery of the Higgs Boson.

Musk said CERN's director, Fabiola Gianotti, talked to him about his tunnelling company potentially digging tunnels for a new particle accelerator, which would be four times larger than the (LHC). Musk's Boring Company is an infrastructure firm mostly focused on building new tunnels to ease traffic congestion.

Musk said the Boring Company could help save billions of euros.

—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 21, 2019​

CERN announced a design report for a new particle collider, called the Future Circular Collider (FCC), on Monday.

The FCC would be about four times the size of the LHC, which runs for 27 km (just under 17 miles) under Switzerland.

A spokesman for CERN confirmed to Business Insider that director Fabiola Gianotti met Elon Musk at the Royal Society in July last year.

"In view of projects for future larger accelerators, CERN is always open to new, cost-effective technologies that could lead to their implementation, including the tunnels that will be needed," the spokesman added.

Musk founded the Boring Company in 2016, and the company unveiled its first test tunnel in December, and its tunnelling equipment currently makes headway about 14 times slower than a snail— although Musk said at the launch party for the tunnel, "Aspirationally, we should be slightly faster than a snail."

Read more: Elon Musk's Boring Company axes plans to build a massive tunnel under Los Angeles

The plans for the FCC are not yet set in stone. "CERN is seriously considering a large collider to take over when the LHC will stop operations around 2035-2040," the spokesman said. "Considering the time scale of such projects, a decision would need to be taken in the next few years."

 

[llien]

I like the fact he exists. What his rocket company has achieved so far is nothing short of amazing (reading poisonous comments by Russian rocket scientists and engineers was quite entertaining when I was till active on FB).

But that Boring company of his... I'm not quite following where the innovation is. He bought standard equipment, that is used in standard ways and his project was in on way cheaper than a typical "boring" company would charge either.

 

[Ailynn]

Just...
Just please don't open a portal to a demon dimension....okay?

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Conspiracy theorists must be going nutso over this.

I think it's neat, but considering how many delays and stops affected the LHC I wonder how effective CERN will be at securing funding.

 

[RainblowDash]

I mean just the size of the components of the Hadron Collider were already massive enough v

 

[TheShadowLord]

Conspiracy theorists must be going nutso over this.

I think it's neat, but considering how many delays and stops affected the LHC I wonder how effective CERN will be at securing funding.

What theories is that? That he wants to create one to rule the planet?lol

 

[SKM1]

Fucking colliders. Well, I hope the project pushes technology at least.

Curious fact: CERN was created as a way to bring together European nations after WWII and for that reason it's centered around physics without applications to war. That's why they don't do nuclear. The nuclear stuff was reserved for USA's national labs.

 

[Gander]

Particle colliders have done what for us exactly?

 

[TheShadowLord]

Particle colliders have done what for us exactly?

https://www.livescience.com/64392-large-hadron-collider-discoveries.html

 

[RainblowDash]

Particle colliders have done what for us exactly?

Formed the basis of the Knights of Sidonia fiction with the Higgs particles.

 

[Dontero]

Yeah while tunnel boring company done was small it was proof enough they have something going on when it comes to fast digging.

People would be surprised how slow tech is going in some places because there is no competition.

 

[llien]

Conditions that LHC creates are anyway occurring naturally in our atmosphere (when Sun bombards it), so no need to worry about colliders.

People would be surprised how slow tech is going in some places because there is no competition.

Offending Swiss "borers" you are. They have a bunch of unique projects on the achievement list, one of them is the longest railway and the deepest tunnel at the same time.

 

[Dontero]

Yes they have. That doesn't mean their technology could be outdated.

When Musk and his co. started to make online banking no one took them seriously.
When musk started to create rockets no one took him seriously.
When musk started to make cars no one took him seriously

While he will have his share of failed projects for sure his projects usually do have good ideas behind them.
Question is whatever competence his team has or not and what technology level is needed to achieve that.

 

[SKM1]

Particle colliders have done what for us exactly?

Suppose you want to know what's inside a rock. What do you do? You break it. What do you do if you want to know what's inside a particle? You break it. But they are so energetic that you have to throw them very, very fast against each other to break them. That's what particle colliders do.

There are theories which predict some properties of particles. One of them is supersymmetry (SUSY), which basically means that for every particle there's a supersymmetric cousin. They have not been observed, however. Supersymmetry is at the basis of string theories. So NO SUSY = NO STRINGS. But people are "you need higher energies" aka "smash them harder and you'll see!". That's one of the main reasons these colliders are constructed. However, Hawking said that to prove string theory we would need a collider the size of the galaxy, so...

The main benefits of colliders are not practical. They are either scientific or political. For me they are fucking boring. The good stuff is happening at condensed matter research.

One interesting thing is that traditionally Quantum Field Theory was synonymous with particle physics. Not long ago people found out that it's applicable to cosmology and condensed matter. There are also dualities between the physics of black holes and certain materials. Add to that the universality property of phase transitions and the myriad of dualities in string theory and everything is pointing towards a description of nature that is whole and not segregated nor reducible.

 

[Xyphie]

Imagine thinking Elon Musk has actually come up with some magical new way of digging tunnels faster and cheaper than anyone else. There's a reason every mining company in the world isn't knocking at his door -- the company is a giant publicity stunt.