What Are Must-Sees For Open Day At the LHC?

ribasushi writes "The last open day at the Large Hadron Collider is one week away. While I have a solid chance to go, I am dumbstruck by the insane amount of things to see during the 10 hours of the event. Since I do not know all that much about physics, I am turning to the knowledgeable crowd here at Slashdot — what do you think are the most awesome 5 must-see things on the agenda next Sunday?"

Obligatory

[evanbd]

xkcd [xkcd.com]

Black Holes

[thegrassyknowl]

Why not go see the black holes. You'll finally be able to answer the question of what's on the other side of one!

Ask them...

[vought]

If you can see the Xener Diode assembly and the Flux Capacitor.

Flux Capacitors

[gc8005]

You have *got* to see the flux capacitors! I realize that you're a bit new to physics, but please press hard to see the flux capacitors. Your guide may laugh uneasily - just keep pressing and don't take "No" for an answer. You won't be sorry.

Crowbar

[apankrat]

Make sure you know where to get one in case of an emergency.

I ask one thing

[Mandovert]

Please, don't move carts with odd-looking crystals in teleporting devices.

The black hole

[Anonymous Coward]

See if you can goad the physicists into destroying the universe by creating a black hole. You know you want to.

Re:Black Holes

[lahi]

Nah, black holes suck!

-Lasse

Re:Crowbar

[plover]

They say they'll have cake for the visitors.

Bring a can of spray paint, just in case.

Re:Obligatory

[Anonymous Coward]

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1323/1433529629_4c1f775559.jpg [flickr.com]

Please...

[SeekerDarksteel]

The LHC is just a tourist trap. It's like Times Square. You go thinking it's gonna be all fun, then you realize it's just a bunch of bright colors and earth eating black holes, and there's nothing to do there but shop for overpriced bosons you could've picked up for half price at a more nondescript collider.

I'm sure you were expecting ..

[Anonymous Coward]

.. Small Hard-on Collider

Re:Flux Capacitors

[Anonymous Coward]

I must advise against asking about the flux capacitors. I tried, and it landed me in a psych ward for 10 years. I'm still waiting for the voices in my head to tell me what was so wrong about just wanting to see the flux capacitors. :'(

What I'd like to see...

[Tuoqui]

The On switch/button :D

You can get the answer by repeatedly asking 'What does this button do?'

Re:Hahaha

[aitikin]

I am turning to the knowledgeable crowd here at Slashdot ...

Hahahahaha.... What drugs are you using ?.... I want some of that...mine are not working as good....

I believe you meant not working as well

How's that for knowledgeable!?

*barely dodges flak*

Other must-sees

[jd]

• A Type 40 police box
• Sub-ether electronic thumb (handy for escaping exploding planets)
• Their back issues of 1001 more things to explode with magnets

Re:NY Times article, blackholes?! strange matter?!

[CSMatt]

The Large Hadron Collider is designed to fire up protons to energies of seven trillion electron volts before banging them together. Nothing, indeed, will happen in the CERN collider that does not happen 100,000 times a day from cosmic rays in the atmosphere, said Nima Arkani-Hamed, a particle theorist at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

Yes, and it is only by the grace of God that these cosmic rays have not killed us yet.

Compulsory T-Shirt

[adamkennedy]

"I visited the Large Hadron Collider and all I got was this radioactive T-Shirt"

Re:I ask one thing

[MadnessASAP]

I have this sudden urge to mail CERN and tell them to prepare for unforeseen consequences.

Re:naturally

[DarkAxi0m]

buying a real "Mini black Hole!" on a key-ring. :)

Re:What I'd like to see...

[jd]

Asking is no substitute for experimentation.

Re:Compulsory T-Shirt

[Iamthecheese]

"Scientists do it in tubes!"

Re:Please...

[Quiet_Desperation]

Ah, but the LHC has the hard to find Higgs Bosons. You can't get those anywhere else at *any* price, although I think Fermilab sells a decent knockoff.

Simple

[antifoidulus]

ask for the keys and take it for a test collide!

Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week, try the fish!

Re:Compulsory T-Shirt

[auric_dude]

I collided with the largest hardon and poked my eye out.

Re:I ask one thing

[laejoh]

And check your^h^h^h^hfor a fly when entering the teleporting device!

Re:Please...

[TeknoHog]

there's nothing to do there but shop for overpriced bosons you could've picked up for half price at a more nondescript collider.

Actually, a lot of bosons are free of charge.

Re:Obligatory

[Anonymous Coward]

I am turning to the knowledgeable crowd here at Slashdot

You must be new here.

Re:NY Times article, blackholes?! strange matter?!

[Dr. Cody]

Yes, and it is only by the grace of God that these cosmic rays have not killed us yet.

Well, that's what they taught me back in Kansas...

See if you can find...

[Eth1csGrad1ent]

...THE BUTTON (TM) (C) 2008. All Rights Reserved. Patent Pending. You know the one. Big, Red, Round. Has a PostIt note on it reading "DO NOT PUSH THIS". I mean...cmon...Its just gotta be there somewhere! Its just gotta..

Recycling?

[Msdose]

Ask them if the big bang was caused by an experiment to discover the Higg's boson.
Ask them if this is the last chance to perform this experiment before physicists realize that it will cause a big bang and inflationary event which will recycle the present universe.
Ask them if this is the same experiment that was done 20 billion light years away and that put on a show called the Star of Bethlehem 2000 years ago.
Ask them if the only proof that they will cause a big bang is that there cannot be any proof until the experiment is performed. (See also 'The Hound of the Baskervilles')
Ask them if it is necessary to do the experiment because we've been doing it for infinity and if we don't the universe will fade away forever.
Ask them if we have to do it because if we don't some other nearby civilization will beat us to it and we'll eat their dust.

Re:Black Holes

[MindKata]

"Maybe we could use them to dispose of fission waste and CO2"

They could sell the Black Holes they make in their gift shop, so everyone can have a Black Hole waste disposable system at home.

I can't wait for the LHC Gift Shop to start selling Small Hadron Colliders ... then I can make my own Black Holes at home!

Re:Other must-sees

[justkeeper]

And don't forget your towel......

Re:I ask one thing

[Brian Gordon]

..the right email in the, wrong place, can make all the, difference, in the world..

Am I in trouble ...

[giorgist]

I thought a superconducting key ring would be a cool souvenir.
They don't sell it over the net.
So I tried eBay.

No luck, but there was some superconducting parafinelia for some $10K. So I asked

How much to ship to Iran

G

Re:Flux Capacitors

[Anonymous Coward]

The fact you're posting this from a mental ward offers a great explanation of the regular conversation on this site; I'm sure you're not the only one allowed! Who would've thought they'd let crazies read and post on Slashdot?