The world is not going to end

100 metres underground, crossing the border of Switzerland and France is a 27-kilometre cavern. Inside this cavern lies the greatest experiment humankind has ever undertaken. So great, in fact, that some crazies -- and some religious folks who don't believe in science -- believe it may cause the end of the world.

And the experiment begins tonight.

Yes, there is a chance that the Large Hadron Collider is going to create some small black holes. But that chance is extremely remote and, even if black holes are produced, no less than Stephen Hawking himself believes that nothing bad will come of them.

Hawking also, in the above-linked article, says that the LHC is at least as important as the space program. I don't know about you, but I'd take Hawking's word over that of a man in Hawaii who claims to be a botanist.

What the LHC can offer in terms of scientific discovery, if divided by the risks it poses, would be approaching infinity. But I'll let some much more qualified sources explain that:

• New Scientist (the first possibility, while supremely unlikely, would be quite amazing)
• Scientific American LHC Countdown

If you'd rather listen to a rap explaining the LHC, here's New Scientist freelancer and US/LHC Kate McAlpine collaborating with Future Soon favourite, MC Hawking:



Previously on the Future Soon: A theory of everything