LHC now fully operational.

[Jasper]

I'm looking forward to all the new textbooks that will have to be written when the LHC has done its job.

[LMNO]

Well, one of it's "jobs" is also to prove that the Higgs Boson doesn't exist...

I mean, the LHC is simply a prohibitively expensive experiment.  If they don't find anything, it still did what it was supposed to.

[Jasper]

I thought it was supposed to have many experiments lined up, the results of which are supposed to change (or add to, or strengthen) a lot of physics?  Like supersymmetry and various questions about EM forces?

[LMNO]

Well, yeah, but like the old saying goes, sometimes when you ask a question, the answer is "maybe".

[Jasper]

You seem to not have an especially rosy view of  the LHC.  Mind my asking why?

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Well, yeah, but like the old saying goes, sometimes when you ask a question, the answer is "maybe".

[LMNO]

You seem to not have an especially rosy view of  the LHC.  Mind my asking why?

I think that the LHC is going to give us a fuckton of information.

I have no idea what that information is going to be.  Which, if you think about it, is the point.

Finding a new particle that is the fundamental building block of the universe would be a Black Swan.
But so would proof that such a particle can't possible exist.

Both results would fundamentally change QM.

So, I think you might be misinterpreting my statements.  If the LHC works, that's going to be awesome.  If it breaks, that will suck.

I'm not thinking that it will find the Higgs Boson, I'm thinking it will help clarify what might be going on.

[Jasper]

It has broken before, so yeah.  I see what you're saying.  Still, hearing about the LHC is really exciting.  Just that we've even built it is, to me, really special.  That we can use it to learn about the basic facts of reality is just unbelievable.  I'm kind of a fanboy, come to think about it.

[Rococo Modem Basilisk]

Let's say the LHC finds something that indicates a higgs boson couldn't exist. That indicates that our model of QM is pretty broken, doesn't it? Since a big chunk of it revolves around the assumption that the higgs boson exists (from what little I understand -- maybe it's the media up-playing the importance of a mystery particle with a cool name). Which would actually be a good thing: everything we actually use QM for will still work the same way it has, but there will be a lot more potential work in generating new models and testing them.

[NotPublished]

It has broken before, so yeah.  I see what you're saying.  Still, hearing about the LHC is really exciting.  Just that we've even built it is, to me, really special.  That we can use it to learn about the basic facts of reality is just unbelievable.  I'm kind of a fanboy, come to think about it.

Like wise, its a fascinating thing to hear about regardless

[Requia ☣]

Let's say the LHC finds something that indicates a higgs boson couldn't exist. That indicates that our model of QM is pretty broken, doesn't it? Since a big chunk of it revolves around the assumption that the higgs boson exists (from what little I understand -- maybe it's the media up-playing the importance of a mystery particle with a cool name). Which would actually be a good thing: everything we actually use QM for will still work the same way it has, but there will be a lot more potential work in generating new models and testing them.

The Higgs wasn't even mentioned when I took quantum physics.  Most of what the LHC is out to test are things we can really only speculate about, I can't see it effecting the things that are already considered fairly certain, just the stuff where people have gone 'well if the higgs boson exists then it would explain why X happens'

we still know X happens, even if we have no idea why