Last Post?

I thought I had better say a tentative farewell to you all, in case I disappear down one of the black holes that might be created tomorrow in the Large Hadron Collider when scientists do their Big Bang experiment.

It seems that they have built a big tunnel on the France/Switzerland border. (That's near me, so I will be near the eye of the storm, so to speak.) Anyway.... into this tunnel, they are going to release a lot of protons. These protons will run around like headless chickens, banging into each other. (Sounds a bit like an under fives' birthday party.) The idea is exactly that: they will bang into each other (not have a party) again, and again, and again, creating "particle interactions". They'll certainly be interacting, even I can work that out.

Now we come to it: the Quatermass moment. Some scientists have expressed a concern that these interactions may create black holes which might suck up the earth!!!!!!!!!!!! That can't be right. Can it? (All that talking practice gone to waste!)

However, I'm pinning my hopes on the other scientists having it right. Their view is that any black holes would only be small ones; that they would probably be unstable, and just spin out (they don't say where) and disappear. (I was under the impression that holes were holes - you know - round gaps with nothing in them? So how a hole can disappear..............?) Still, black holes spinning out (wherever) is better than them 'sucking up the earth'.

Just in case, then, I will say a big thank you to all my regular readers, and send everyone my very best wishes for Big Bang Wednesday. Au revoir (I hope) mes amis.