The World Ends in November

Via Man Vs. Clown:

It has recently come to my attention that, in November 2007, the Large Hadron Collider 27 km particle acceleration tunnel near Geneva will be switched on. Without boring you with the math involved, suffice to say that this is the first time in human history such a device will be activated, and a number of scientific watchdog groups are expressing grave concern.

It is, apparently, entirely possible that this event could conceivably result in any of the following unintentional side effects: the creation of a black hole; the creation of the hypothetical material known as "strange matter"; the catalyzation of proton decay via the creation of magnetic monopoles; or, as the hardcore physics nerds would put it, the "transition of Earth into a different quantum mechanical vacuum".

Any of these occurences would most likely result in the instantaneous destruction of Earth, and three of them could actually, in the most extreme hypothetical scenario, cause the rather abrupt end of the universe. I kid thee not.

On the plus side, if it works, we will learn a whole lot more about magnets.

Just thought you should know.

For more info, check out this page on Wikipedia.

PS. I don't actually expect the world to end in November. But if it does, you've been warned.