Not the end of the world. . .

. . . but we almost could have seen it from Geneva recently.

Initial "heads-up" from Paul Harvey today:

In Geneva, Switzerland, at the CERN particle accelerator complex, a $4 billion dollar project, scientists made some basic errors in their mathematical computations. The mistake lifted a 20-ton magnet off its moorings, filling the tunnel with helium gas. Now that circular accelerator is 17 miles around, and it now must be stripped down, repaired and upgraded. How close were we to triggering a big bang? Oh, I mean The Big Bang? They won’t say.

CERN is the world's largestparticle physics laboratory . ... where the web was born!

From their Press Release section:

The magnet supports are made of a material called G-11, a glass cloth-epoxy laminate. The specifications for the magnet designate 20 atmospheres as the design pressure criterion and 25 atmospheres as the acceptance test criterion. However, computer-aided engineering calculations completed independently by Fermilab and CERN on March 28 show that the G-11 support structure in the magnets was inadequate to withstand the associated longitudinal forces. CERN and Fermilab now know that this is an intrinsic design flaw that must be addressed in all triplet magnets assembled at Fermilab.

CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research, the world's largest particle physics centre. It sits astride the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva. CERN is a laboratory where scientists unite to study the building blocks of matter and the forces that hold them together. CERN exists primarily to provide them with the necessary tools. These are accelerators, which accelerate particles to almost the speed of light and detectors to make the particles visible. Founded in 1954, the laboratory was one of Europe's first joint ventures and includes now 20 Member States.

Just thought you all might like to know, wondering -- perhaps -- why you happened to wake up dead one morning, your molecules scattered to the universe.

BZ

P.S.

The photo above indicates the actual size of the particle accelerator at the CERN site.