Stephen Hawking: God Particle Could Destroy The Universe
- 10 years ago
The Higgs Boson particle, also known as the God particle, could lead to the destruction of the universe itself, according to renowned physicist Stephen Hawking.
The Higgs Boson particle, also known as the God particle, could lead to the destruction of the universe itself, according to renowned physicist Stephen Hawking.
In the preface to a new book called Starmus, which is a collection of lectures by famous scientists and astronomers, Hawking warns about the destructive potential of the God particle.
Physicists working on the CERN’s Large Hadron Collider discovered the particle, identifying it as a crucial component of why objects in the universe have mass.
Hawking says that if the God particle becomes unstable, it has the potential to destroy the entire universe.
He wrote in the preface of the book: “This could mean that the universe could undergo catastrophic vacuum decay, with a bubble of the true vacuum expanding at the speed of light. This could happen at any time and we wouldn't see it coming.”
In order for this to happen the Higgs Boson particle would have to become metastable at an energy level higher than 100 billion gigaelectronvolts.
But to charge something to that high of an energy level would require a particle accelerator larger than planet Earth.
Something that Hawking also predicts is unlikely in the current economic situation.
The Higgs Boson particle, also known as the God particle, could lead to the destruction of the universe itself, according to renowned physicist Stephen Hawking.
In the preface to a new book called Starmus, which is a collection of lectures by famous scientists and astronomers, Hawking warns about the destructive potential of the God particle.
Physicists working on the CERN’s Large Hadron Collider discovered the particle, identifying it as a crucial component of why objects in the universe have mass.
Hawking says that if the God particle becomes unstable, it has the potential to destroy the entire universe.
He wrote in the preface of the book: “This could mean that the universe could undergo catastrophic vacuum decay, with a bubble of the true vacuum expanding at the speed of light. This could happen at any time and we wouldn't see it coming.”
In order for this to happen the Higgs Boson particle would have to become metastable at an energy level higher than 100 billion gigaelectronvolts.
But to charge something to that high of an energy level would require a particle accelerator larger than planet Earth.
Something that Hawking also predicts is unlikely in the current economic situation.