CERN Returns with a New "Infinity Machine"
CERN recently decided to release a picture on it's official Instragram of a new precision instrument they are calling the "Infinity Machine". As it turns out, this machine has been in operation for several years, yet it would seem after the recent incident with a small animal and subsequent shutdown of the LHC, the folks at CERN wanted to come back in a big way. Thus, the most excitingly-named, yet least interesting piece of equipment in the known universe: the Infinity Machine.
This leaves us to wonder, why are we just now hearing about this development? The machine has been in operation for years, yet now we are seeing it in the headlines. Of course, this type of behavior is typical, even expected, of institutions such as CERN. In these types of circles, discoveries are made, processes are implemented, machines are utilized, yet the rest of us hear about it months, or even years, after the fact. We've seen this with the Higgs Boson discovery of 2012, LIGO's semi-recent detection of gravity waves, and now the Infinity Machine.
(Gravity Waves Detected!)
Why this particular machine is given this name, one can only guess. The machine itself is an extremely precise measuring tool, built to check the sensitivity of components used in high-energy particle experiments throughout the LHC. CERN stated the machine can measure with a "precision of 0.3 micrometres (μm), around 300 times smaller than the width of a human hair," in a recent quote.
A bit more interesting is the fact this machine was designed specifically to measure components for the proposed Compact Linear Collider (CLIC). This new collider would collide electrons and positrons instead of colliding protons like the LHC. Positrons are the antiparticle of electrons, so by colliding electrons with positrons, physicists hope to unlock new boundaries past the LHC's current capabilities.
Giving this machine the name of "Infinity" speaks to a larger scientific obsession with the concept of infinity. As mentioned in an earlier article, infinity is a solution that is never meant to be accepted as viable in science nor mathematics. In fact, infinity is still used as a test to see if a theory or mathematical solution is accurate.
(Infinite Problems with the Universe)
Basically, if the solution to problem comes out as infinity, it is rendered meaningless and a mistake has been made along the way. Nowadays, however, the concept of infinity is becoming more and more accepted as a viable solution. If certain religious circles have a "god of the gaps" problem, then certain scientific circles have an "infinity of the gaps" problem. For more information on this, check out the show I host for SkyWatchTV, entitled Into the Multiverse. In an upcoming episode entitled "Into the Multiverse 013: Gravity's Rainbow", we tackle the concept of infinity and discuss if it has a role in physical reality as we know it.
CERN is also hot on the trail of a possible new particle. Recent tests at the LHC have shown suspicious "bumps" in the data, potentially pointing to an undiscovered particle. Speculations are flooding the world of theoretical physics in light of this new revelation. Some think it might be a new version of the Higgs Boson, a supersymmetric partner of a known particle, or even the elusive graviton. In any event, it looks like we will have to wait at least until the summer of 2016 to find out more.
(CERN Discovers Hints of Mysterious New Particle)
Thank you for reading, take care, and God bless!
Josh Peck
http://www.skywatchtvstore.com/Cherubim-Quantium-p/jp-ccqcso.htm