MOST people don`t believe the world will be swallowed by a black hole created by a "doomsday" machine that gets started this week, but there`s just a hint of nervousness out there, according to NEWS.com.au readers.
The Large Hadron Collider is the world`s biggest particle accelerator, built underneath the Franco-Swiss border and run by European science organisation CERN.
The machine has been painted as a "doomsday" device in science fiction novels and recent court injunctions, and scientists involved with the project have even received death threats demanding they stop an experiment scheduled for tomorrow.
Yet comments on NEWS.com.au`s LHC coverage suggest our readers aren`t cancelling their weekend plans just yet.
"This reminds me of the Millenium Bug! I love hysteria, it makes me laugh," said Johan of Brisbane
Reader "Kozeyekan" offered an explanation why the doomsday scenario was highly unlikely.
"Creating a black hole with two protons is like trying to create a planet from a sand pit. For the black hole to occur, it`d need all the mass that is in the solar system."
Other readers weren`t so sure.
"All this to unlock the secret of the big bang? The big bang is a theory. Is the destruction of the Earth worth it? I hope they really know what they are doing," said Bao of Sydney.
Steve T was resigned, or perhaps he was just quoting from a Douglas Adams novel.
"Nice knowing you all.... So long and thanks for all the fish..."
But Stevo of Adelaide had an escape plan.
"If it creates black holes I`ll just escape to an alternate reality where the experiment never took place!"
Faced with the possibility of the end of the world, a bunch of readers tried to have the last laugh.
"Chuck Norris doesn`t look for God Particles, he creates them," said "KnowerOfAll".
Nick of Melbourne responded, "every time Chuck blinks his eyelids crush atoms."
And Chris of Canberra queried, "If the world does end, who will do the Wikipedia entry about it?"
The sci-fi fans came through, with Dr Who and Half Life references peppered throughout, and some absurdist humour as well.
"I just hope in our next world that pants are optional," said Thomas Vale of ACT
And just as physicists hope to unify their theories with the "God particle", Simon of Brisbane unified every commenter with his wry observation.
"Nothing but idiotic arguments about personal beliefs and wacky one-liners," he said.
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