ConCERN over the Large Hadron Collider

Has the large hadron collider destroyed the world yet?

If everything goes well, the Earth Won't BLOW UP on Wednesday

Science Times, Tuesday, September 8, 2008

Fingers Crossed, Physicists Are
Ready for Collider to Roll

By DENNIS OVERBYE, NY Times

Failing a collision with an unforeseen asteroid or an invasion from Alpha Centauri, the world will probably not end on Wednesday, but a lot of people will be holding their breath anyway...

Read more...

You can visit the LHC website for live coverage at 3 a.m. Wednesday morning. Confiused? Watch a video and listen to a guy with an accent explain how it works.

What makes a meter a meter?

This week's Extra credit assignment is to research various aspects of the measurement we know as the meter:

• Who came up with it?


• Who decided exactly how long it should be, and why?


• Who makes sure that we have an accurate measure of it?


• How do we know it's accurate?


• Where is this kept, and under what conditions?


• Why is it so important that we have a unit such as the meter that is the same all over the world?


• How would an alien from another planet somewhere in our universe be able to tell exactly what the length of a meter is?

After you have presented your research in class (typed or legibly written, no more than two paragraphs), you may enter the information along with a link to where you got it (ALWAYS cite your sources) as a comment below.