Before the Big Bang - the Big Bounce: Scientists have obtained their first glimpse of what happened before the Big Bang of creation, revealing there was a “Big Bounce”. The new work suggests that time existed before the Big Bang, when a more ancient universe collapsed to give birth to the one we live in today. Ours is the latest universe in a series that expanded, then collapsed, before another - slightly different cosmos - was born anew, though many details are obscure and, the theory concludes, will always remain that way. [Telegraph]
Gauging a Collider’s Odds of Creating a Black Hole: Critics have contended that the machine could produce a black hole that could eat the Earth or something equally catastrophic. To most physicists, this fear is more science fiction than science fact. At a recent open house weekend, 73,000 visitors, without pitchforks or torches, toured the collider without incident. Nevertheless, some experts say too much hype and not enough candor on the part of scientists about the promises and perils of what they do could boomerang into a public relations disaster for science, opening the door for charlatans and demagogues. [NYT]
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