Oxford Scholars Examine The Safety Of Cern Poem by Lonnie Hicks

5/16/12

Weighing in on CERN's safety are scholars from Oxford. See link below and then we discuss. See what you think.

Click on the author's name(Toby Ord) in blue in the article to get a PDF of the article.



http: //www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126926.800-how-do-we-know-the-lhc-really-is-safe.html

A quote from the above paper after examining CERN's analysis of the safety of the project the authors go on to say:

'While the arguments for the safety of the LHC are commendable for their thoroughness, they are not infallible. Although the report considered several possible physical theories, it is eminently possible that these are all inadequate representations of the underlying physical reality. It is also possible that the models of processes in the LHC or the astronomical processes appealed to in the cosmic ray argument are flawed in an
important way. Finally, it is possible that there is a calculation error in the report.'



More:

'However, our analysis implies that the current safety report should not be the final word in the safety assessment of the LHC.'

'To proceed with the LHC on the arguments of the most recent safety report alone, we would require further work on estimating P(¬A) , P(X|¬A) , the acceptable expected death toll, and the value of 15 future generations and other life on earth. Such work would require expertise beyond theoretical physics, and an interdisciplinary group would be essential. If the stakes were lower, then it might make sense for pragmatic concerns to sweep aside this extra level of risk analysis, but the stakes are astronomically large, and so further analysis is critical.'