We Have Beam!… (But You Probably Already Knew That)
Yes, ladies and gentlemen. As you’ve surmised from the continual existence of life on Earth, the Beam was both successful AND created no black holes. Ridiculous as the media coverage was from the beginning, one has to learn that maybe, just maybe, the most brilliant minds on our planet might know what they are doing. What can I say about it? Simply this. This is a machine which has been under construction for the past two decades, making it the modern-day equivalent of the Great Wall of China. Imagine thousands of people, finally coming to test this monolith for the first time, with that much history behind it as well as the knowledge that some in the room have dedicated their lives to it. One would expect there to be champagne and toasts, hugs and handshakes, tears and moments alone for such an occasion as this. There was that, to be sure. But what was unexpected was how short this lasted. No all-day parties, no vacations, but rather the immediate desire to to test it. People pointing out to diagrams on walls with projected data, exited physicists running around crowded control rooms, exclaiming like a kid at Christmas “Look at this Map! Look at it! WE HAVE DATA!”
The surprising thing was that this wasn’t an end to two decades of work. This was only the beginning.
I do have some pictures, but since the team has returned from Geneva they have been going at full speed in preparation for the IFP this week, and for myself, I’m still trying to figure out what time it really is. I’ll have some additional posts up this week, wrapping up the two-and-a-half week shoot for Particle Fever.
Oh, and currently, my computer clock says it is 5:10 in the morning. I’ve been up for two hours. Any jet-lag advice you may have, PLEASE post soon. I am going to go crazy…