bbc four tonight

[timetraveller]

Did I understand this correctly the only problem with the standard model is that at the higher end of the energy scale ( smallest Particles ) they always appear to have no mass and that when you try to introduce gravity into the equations, then gravity becomes the overwhelming powerful force or did i missunderstand what was said Regards Pete

[lunator]

Pete you are pretty close from what I understood. The Standard model cannot explain how any matter/particle has mass. This is a bit of a flaw that LHC hopes to correct.

Cheers

Ian

[algol]

only went and blumming missed it after saying on here i wouldn't. what an idiot, got overexcited with partially clear skies and ran out

[themos]

I didn't like the second program. I didn't warm to the constantly smiling presenter who tended to use flowery language. There was no counter argument to what he presented. He completely neglected the greatest find of the last decade, the Type Ia supernova results and the "dark energy" hypothesis. The main theorists consulted (Ellis and De Rújula) both worked at CERN so there was an inescapable conflict of interest. A great way to pitch for funding at Brussels but as public information it was very poor indeed.

[algol]

most of these shows are very poor in terms of public information as most of them are pushing an angle / theorey.

[themos]

As soon as I hear the phrase "capture the imagination", I reach for my metaphorical gun. If I want imagination I go to Hollywood/Disney, not CERN.

[ringz]

I watched both programmes on BBC iplayer. I enjoyed them very much but they didn't supply me with enough brain power to have an opinion on the higgs boson :?

But, I get the feeling that the problem of combining the minute and the large means that there is something fundamentally unknown.

--

Martyn

[algol]

anyone know what time on wednesday that the LHC will be switched on?

[RichieP]

I enjoyed the Big Bang programme, particularly the extracts from the old Horizon programmes which reminded me how good a series this used to be.

I especially liked the 1950's woman hoovering around her tortoise on the carpet during Professor Hoyle's radio broadcast. Rather surreal!

[Astronut]

Watched both programs early hours this morning on Virgin cable TV on demand.

Lost Horizons first to get up to speed and then the Big Bang Machine.

Great viewing, especially the LHC program. IMHO they couldn't have chosen a better presenter (Prof. Brian Cox?) to put the points across. His enthusiasm and passion for the subject drew me right in.

[themos]

Nothing much will happen on Wednesday at the LHC, except that a lot of journalists will be present and one proton beam will try to make it all the way round the tunnel. No collisions, no acceleration, it will go at the "injection" energy of 450 GeV.