This makes me a little nervous. Preparing For The Biggest Experiment On Earth (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061216111140.htm). It reminds me of that David Brin story where someone created a tiny black hole and it fell into the middle of the earth.

This makes me a little nervous.Why? It's just like the many particle accelerators we already have, except bigger and better. We've been doing this for decades.

"This is Sal, reporting for the Daily Science show, and we're here at the first large-scale test of the new black hole generator."

"All the tests leading to this one have been done on an extremely small scale, but the magnetics used to house the reaction have worked flawlessly."

"The lead researcher, Dr. Ara Gonce, has assured us that this test will perform only the basic functions of a Schwarzschild discontinuity, commonly known as a black hole."

"Now, a hush falls over the crowd as Dr. Gonce, with a small smile, pushes th. ."




And thus, the human race collectively earns the Darwin award. The End. :D

Ya bunch of luddites.

Here we go: http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/story/0,13026,1458536,00.html
10: Earth swallowed by a black hole

Richard Wilson is Mallinckrodt Research Professor of Physics at Harvard University in the US:

"Around seven years ago, when the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider was being built at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, there was a worry that a state of dense matter could be formed that had never been created before. At the time this was the largest particle accelerator to have been built, making gold ions crash head on with immense force. The risk was that this might form a stage that was sufficiently dense to be like a black hole, gathering matter from the outside. Would the Brookhaven labs (and perhaps the entire Earth) end up being swallowed by a black hole created by the new accelerator?

"Using the information we already know from black holes in outer space, we did some calculations to find out if the Brookhaven particle accelerator was capable of forming such a black hole. We are now pretty certain this state of matter won't form at Brookhaven and that the Earth won't be swallowed when these particles collide."

You know, when speaking of generating earth engulfing black holes...personally i would like the scientists to be more than just "pretty certain".

I mean...I'm pretty certain I flushed the toilet this morning, but there is still a definite possibility that I did not.

Yeah, you'd think if what you're doing might cause the destruction of your planet and all the life on it, you'd want to do better than "pretty certain". :p

Well if it does happen to cause a black hole, it's not like anyone would know about it.

If your atoms were completely separated instantly, its not like you would even care.

If I recall my Sci fi stories correctly it doesn't happen that quickly. It starts out very slowly but then goes quickly. So you might know there's a black hole in the center of the earth for quite awhile before you finally reach the event horizon.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078869/


/smile

It was this one I was thinking of: Brin uses the escape of a manmade black hole that is eating away at the Earth's core and a plausible future of sophisticated, instant universal and global computer data linkage and retrieval to reexamine, explore, and expand upon the themes regarding genetic creation and advancement begun in Star tide Rising (1983) and The Uplift War (1987, both Bantam). There is an element of suspense and intrigue as the characters scramble to define, find, and solve the black hole damage before each other and before it's too late. Although less engaging than the previously mentioned books, this is timely in its investigation of current ecological issues and includes a welcome annotated bibliography and list of environmental organizations and addresses. --Joan Lewis Reynolds, West Potomac High School, VA
http://www.amazon.com/Earth-David-Brin/dp/055329024X

I don't see why my atoms would be split apart...we're talking about singularity causing gravitational compression...wouldn't my atoms all be smooshed into ...well, whatever the hell comes out the ass end of a black hole?

You'd become a Aidon, which will be a new particle! Better than being a Queeron, I suppose.

Aidon the Bitter Sub-Atomic?

I don't see why my atoms would be split apart...we're talking about singularity causing gravitational compression...wouldn't my atoms all be smooshed into ...well, whatever the hell comes out the ass end of a black hole?
As you got closer to the black hole, the difference in the gravitational attraction between the near and far parts of your body would rip you apart.

I'm not sure whether I'm confusing science with science fiction but isn't time itself distorted with a black hole? If you're falling into a black hole, it would take almost an eternity from the view of an outside observer. Bah... black holes are definitely not my area of expertise.

I'm not sure whether I'm confusing science with science fiction but isn't time itself distorted with a black hole? If you're falling into a black hole, it would take almost an eternity from the view of an outside observer. Bah... black holes are definitely not my area of expertise.That's why it is important to talk out your ass, with authority, when you talk about these things! :D

Yes, an outside observer would never actually see you cross the event horizon; instead your light would become more and more redshifted until you can no longer be seen. That is actually one of the more "normal" results.

The really weird stuff happens inside a rotating black hole:
http://nrumiano.free.fr/Estars/int_bh2.html#rot

I'm not sure whether I'm confusing science with science fiction but isn't time itself distorted with a black hole? If you're falling into a black hole, it would take almost an eternity from the view of an outside observer.
According to principles of General Relativity, yes, that's what would happen.

I'm not sure whether I'm confusing science with science fiction but isn't time itself distorted with a black hole? If you're falling into a black hole, it would take almost an eternity from the view of an outside observer. Bah... black holes are definitely not my area of expertise.

If gravity is just bends in space time, then the answer has to be yes.