Particle physics meets the Jersey Shore?

Okay, so I am "slightly obsessed" with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's largest particle accelerator (affectionately known as the "Big Bang Machine")....

[If you are wondering about the Jersey Shore reference, keep reading.]



And now comes word from Geneva, where the Large Hadron Collider (aka the Black Hole Maker) is located, albeit 100 meters underground, that scientists there are on the verge of a major scientific breakthrough, which, considering that they are trying to recreate the Big Bang, does not strike me as good news. Specifically, scientists are on the hunt for "hot dense matter."

[FYI: The picture above is a computer-generated graphic showing the tracks of more than 100 subatomic particles resulting from the collision of protons in the Large Hadron Collider's Compact Muon Solenoid at an energy of 7 trillion electron volts. Talkin' 'bout some "Hot Stuff"*...]

Now, I am not a scientist, but I do try to stay informed on what's going on in the world, and if scientists really wanted to find "hot dense matter," they could have saved $10 billion and just watched a couple of episodes of Jersey Shore. (Talk about a void...)

Note to CERN scientists: If you do find "hot dense matter" how about naming the new subatomic particle (that goes out with a bang) a "Snooki"?

In related news, for those of you wondering what would happen if you put your hand inside the Large Hadron Collider while it was accelerating particles, wonder no more! (Maybe.)



*Bonus points if you got the Donna Summer reference.