Large Hadron Collider Going Online...Despite Death Threats

"Pay No Attention To The Guy Behind The Curtain!"

Hey crazy people, why do you have to be so crazy? The LHC is literally hours away from being 'turned on' or put online. So wouldn't you know it? Right on cue comes the crazies. Some of the complaints are general and make sense.  Parents and concerned citizens are calling the CERN lab and specific universities to talk directly with the professors and scientists who are involved with the construction of the LHC. Questions of: "Will my family be safe?", "Should we move?"...all good questions to ask.

But then the crazies come out, threatening the thoughtful minds behind the scientific marvel. Not just any threat either, to threaten these peoples' lives simply  because there is not a firm understanding of what is being done. The threats seem to come out of fear than 'prophecy' or 'religious fanaticism'...so I guess we got that going for us.

More from the Daily Tech source article after the jump...

However, despite its great promise, many people worldwide have protested the construction of the particle accelerator, believing it could end the world.  Many are fearful that the collider could spawn black holes, which they worry could devour the Earth.  The creators of the LHC, some of the world's foremost scientists, say such concerns are unfounded and convey a lack of understanding about the project.

According to Professor Brian Cox of Manchester University, the public animosity is so severe that American Nobel prize winning physicist Frank Wilczek of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has received death threats.  Professor Cox, typically sedate, adds irritatingly, "Anyone who thinks the LHC will destroy the world is a t---. "

More from Dailytech here.