Black holes for beginners
I read the nice article by Jennifer Ouellette "Beginner's mind" in the March 2007 edition with great interest.
Based on current information I do not understand why the production of a mini black hole produced at the Tevatron or LHC, which is mentioned as a very well chosen example by Ouellette, does not pose any safety risk. Can the possibility be ignored in the safety planning of these labs?
I hold a PhD in particle astrophysics and read all original technical literature pertaining to this risk that I could find (including the safety reports on this subject prepared at BNL and CERN in 2000 and 2003). To some of my friends without a physics background the whole issue must appear even more threatening. A recent made-for-television movie (The Black Hole, USA, 2006) about a collider catastrophe might contribute to public concerns.
May I respectfully ask whether the particle physics community plans to rise to Ouellette's challenge and commission some of its members to explain the reasons for the absence of the potential risk mentioned by Ouellette to an audience with a "Beginner's mind"?
Rainer Plaga, Bonn, Germany
The editors respond: CERN has a document addressing this topic, available on its public Web site.
Click here to download the pdf version of this article.