Stephen Hawking’s new doomsday warning

[Dryson]

Stephen Hawking says the ‘God Particle’ that scientists believe created the world could actually end it, too.
The particle – know as Higgs boson – “has the worrisome feature” that it could become unstable at extremely high energies and create a “black hole” that would collapse the universe, the legendary British physicist has warned in a new book titled Starmus, according to the Daily Express.

http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/steven-hawking-warns-doomsday

I wouldn't listen to anything that Hawking's or anyone else has to say about the end of the Universe. The more that chaos creators like Hawking's predict such scary frames the less likely the entirety of humanity will want to even look at the Universe through a telescope.

Steven Hawking's is that religious nut job who is making people scared because it gets him excited.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Has Stephen Hawking just totally lost his mind lately? This isn't the first crazy alarmist thing he's said in recent memory.

 

[Kibbin]

As someone un-scientific and with a bad memory wasn't he a bit worried a while ago that Aliens were going to invade Earth for our water supply, despite there being plenty of ice and stuff knocking around out there. If I'm wrong on either of those points please tell me.
Just to clarify he wasn't saying that aliens were going to turn up tomorrow or anything just that it was possible.

 

[sojourner]

He just said that if we encountered aliens we'd be hopelessly outmatched and as such sending "hello" messages into space was just asking for trouble.

 

[diankra]

Let's get this in perspective: he said that it appears breaking apart the Higgs-Boson with a force of more than 100 billion eV (I think that was the figure) could trigger an expanding zero point vacuum which would be disastrous.
But... to get to that sort of energy level would require a particle accelerator larger than the Earth (or any other known solid surface), so to produce it in the first place you'd have to have engineering and technological skills way beyond anything we can realistically envisage.. and probably a much deeper understanding of particle physics than we can currently imagine (and which, from the Fermi paradox, no-one else has developed either).

 

[YellowSubmarine]

The only alarming thing about what he said is that now I have to worry not only that the noisy metal band from upstairs might get nuclear weapons, but also that nutjobs living on NGC 4945 might come in possession of a Higgs Boson splitting device and accidentally the universe.

 

[Robert D. Robot]

The only alarming thing about what he said is that now I have to worry not only that the noisy metal band from upstairs might get nuclear weapons, but also that nutjobs living on NGC 4945 might come in possession of a Higgs Boson splitting device and accidentally the universe.

That's just the thought that crossed my mind, YellowSubmarine! It's always the lousy neighbors, ruining things (now including the entire Universe!) for the rest of us!

 

[urbandefault]

Not intending to hijack the thread, but ...

After reading the article I saw a link to the biopic coming out later this year. Just from the trailer it looks like it might be a decent movie, one with a lot of heart.

 

[2takesfrakes]

I'm sure that the situation his condition has forced upon him for all of these years has probably skewed his mind. Being so dependent on others, he's probably always afraid someone will "forget" about him, or misinterpret something happening with him, however irrational that might be. He probably focuses on the negative a lot more than might be healthy for him, the longer it goes on. But not trusting eggheads blindly probably is a good message, anyway. And I hope someone in control of them takes that to heart ...

 

[Hober Mallow]

Hawking is probably still peeved the Higgs was ever discovered in the first place. He lost a $100 bet over it.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

Stephen Hawkings? I have him in my library.

 

[Gov Kodos]

Stephen Hawkings? I have him in my library.

Shouldn't you let him out?

 

[scotthm]

Stephen Hawking says the ‘God Particle’ that scientists believe created the world could actually end it, too.
The particle – know as Higgs boson – “has the worrisome feature” that it could become unstable at extremely high energies and create a “black hole” that would collapse the universe, the legendary British physicist has warned in a new book titled Starmus, according to the Daily Express.

I didn't see anything about "black holes" in that article. Are you sure you actually read it and that it's an accurate accounting of what Mr. Hawking wrote concerning the Higgs boson?

---------------

 

[DarthTom]

Has Stephen Hawking just totally lost his mind lately? This isn't the first crazy alarmist thing he's said in recent memory.

Or could it be paranoia about the film coming out this fall, The Theory Of Everything, which supposedly is taking a not so flattering look into his relationship with his wife?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Has Stephen Hawking just totally lost his mind lately? This isn't the first crazy alarmist thing he's said in recent memory.

Or could it be paranoia about the film coming out this fall, The Theory Of Everything, which supposedly is taking a not so flattering look into his relationship with his wife?

What?

 

[Gov Kodos]

Has Stephen Hawking just totally lost his mind lately? This isn't the first crazy alarmist thing he's said in recent memory.

Or could it be paranoia about the film coming out this fall, The Theory Of Everything, which supposedly is taking a not so flattering look into his relationship with his wife?

What?

Who knows? Hawking liked the film.
http://deadline.com/2014/08/theory-...wking-eddie-redmayne-first-look-video-814507/

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Or could it be paranoia about the film coming out this fall, The Theory Of Everything, which supposedly is taking a not so flattering look into his relationship with his wife?

What?

Who knows? Hawking liked the film.
http://deadline.com/2014/08/theory-...wking-eddie-redmayne-first-look-video-814507/

I just wonder how a potentially unflattering movie about him would lead him to spout off about god particles destroying the universe. Does not compute.

 

[BigJake]

There seems to be a bit of a sport as far as Hawking goes of extracting sensational sentences out of long, speculative, not-necessarily-very-serious arguments and then splashing out headlines that Hawking predicts the Higgs boson will slay us all or Hawking thinks aliens are coming to eat our entrails or Hawking predicts Wigan Athletic will win the FA Cup next year.

Read between the lines and what he's actually saying about the Higgs boson is that a really extraordinary high-energy event involving the Higgs boson could theoretically generate a bubble of "pure vaccuum" that would slowly swallow the universe at the speed of light. So it's a far-future precaution that we might not want to precipitate such an event if we ever did acquire the capability to do so. But it's not a prediction of "The Alternative Factor." If such an event happens, or has already happened, somewhere else in the universe, chances are it would be of about as much realistic immediate concern to us as our galaxy's impending collision with Andromeda.

Theory of Everything isn't unflattering to Hawking that I know of. Everything I can find has him giving it the thumbs up. The notable thing about it is that apparently we'll get to hear Hawking's real voice.

 

[Jedi_Master]

Stephen Hawkings? I have him in my library.

But what about your action figures? All of mine are cherry.

 

[PurpleBuddha]

Stephen Hawking says the ‘God Particle’ that scientists believe created the world could actually end it, too.
The particle – know as Higgs boson – “has the worrisome feature” that it could become unstable at extremely high energies and create a “black hole” that would collapse the universe, the legendary British physicist has warned in a new book titled Starmus, according to the Daily Express.

I didn't see anything about "black holes" in that article. Are you sure you actually read it and that it's an accurate accounting of what Mr. Hawking wrote concerning the Higgs boson?

---------------

I am with you. I know there is a lot of talk about Higgs phase shifts and how a phase shift in the Higgs field near the very beginning accounts for it's current value. I have heard more than one physicist say that if it underwent another phase shift that could spell doom for the universe (particles would stop having mass as the shift spread out), but they also say it is wildly unlikely. I am pretty sure this is what Hawking is talking about, and he was not the first person to mention it.

Either way, he is a smart guy. He knows dooms day stuff gets into the headlines, and timed it with the near release of a movie about his life. Nice.

Edit: looks like Robert beat me to the point about his movie.