Question: can your research create a minture black hole (Hydron collider) on earth ? xx

Suzie Sheehy answered on 15 Mar 2011:

Thanks for your question!
The Large Hadron Collider used to be my research (though isn’t at the moment) but yes, the LHC could potentially create “mini” black holes. It isn’t definite, but it could happen in the energy range of the LHC if the theory that there are extra dimensions in the universe turns out to be true!
There were lots of scare stories about this when the LHC started up but in reality such mini black holes would evaporate almost instantly, leaving behind just some radiation which we could detect. There’s no chance that they could “grow” or destroy the Earth!
If you don’t believe that they’ll evaporate you still shouldn’t worry, because there are particles coming from outer space (cosmic rays) at much higher energies than in the LHC and so far, they haven’t made a black hole and destroyed the earth! So I wouldn’t worry 🙂
(Also, even if they were created, they would be travelling at some huge speed so would pass straight through the earth before they had a chance to cause any damage anyway!)
I hope that answers your question, do let me know if you want to know any more!

In answer to your comment (it said I’d posted too many comments today!):
It is true you can calculate a Schwarzchild radius for just about any object, but you have to think of a way to “convert’ it into a black hole. Usually in space gravity makes black holes and it isn’t strong enough to turn most things into them!
(It’s pretty puny actually)