Cheer up! Summer may be almost over, but the world has not yet ended, nor has It’s the End of the World as We Know It.

The latest scenario in the field of apocaprognostication was tested today, and the Large Hadron Collider, predicted by some to create miniature black holes which would wolf down the earth faster than you can say “Nibbler!”, or to sunder the fabric of reality (whatever that is), went live earlier today and we seem to still be standing, sitting, or whatever we’re doing at the moment.

LHC ran its first test beam this morning, and the results were a success. The accelerator can now begin doing the science work it was designed for.

If you are concerned that it may destroy the world, you may want to check out some of the numerous articles debunking such concerns and explaining that more energy is released on a daily basis by radiation striking the earth’s atmosphere than will be by LHC experiments. If that’s not enough for you, take comfort knowing that the particle streams must slow down to show papers whenever the cross the border between France and Switzerland.

Meanwhile, I leave you with… the LHC Rap:

Some of us may now return to fearing what we do not understand. Thanks for all the publicity for a fabulous science experiment! And if you want to know more about the possibilities of the LHC, check out Wired’s article, linked below.

[Via Large Hadron Collider: Best- and Worst-Case Scenarios | Wired Science from Wired.com]

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