doomsday device

End of the world parties for Large Hadron Collider launch | NEWS.com.au

* World's biggest particle accelerator switched on tonight
* Critics say it may cause the end of the world
* So people are holding parties to go out in style

WHAT do you wear to a party celebrating the end of the world?

Lachlan Hibbert-Wells knows the answer – he's hosting an "end of the world" party tonight to celebrate the activation of the world's biggest particle accelerator.

The Large Hadron Collider, which will be switched on at about 6.30pm (AEST) today, is set to be one of the largest physics experiments in history but has been dubbed a "doomsday device" by critics.

"I know some people are talking about making shirts with clever phrases on them, like 'Does my butt look big in the Higgs-Boson field?', or 'Hey baby, mind if I collapse my atoms into yours?'"

Mr Hibbert-Wells, a 23-year-old university student from Sydney, said his father had dubbed him the "Doomsday Corey", in reference to Corey Worthington's infamous MySpace party.

"I made a Facebook event and suggested that people invite friends, who can invite friends," Mr Hibbert-Wells said.

"I have no idea how many people are going to turn up tonight... I'm suspecting maybe in the hundreds. We're hoping for a quiet affair."

When the Large Hadron Collider is activated it will shoot a particle beam around a 27km circular tunnel in the first of a series of experiments scientists are hoping will recreate the aftermath of the Big Bang.

The European science organisation CERN hopes these experiments will uncover the theoretical Higgs-Boson particle and some more information on the nature of matter.

A small minority of scientists and science fiction writers have characterised the Collider as a "doomsday device", with theories that the collision of particles will create a black hole that could eventually swallow the world.

However numerous studies have verified the experiments will be safe, and tonight's experiment does not involve particle collisions.

Mr Hibbert-Wells said he didn't actually expect the world to end when the LHC beam is switched this evening.

"Tonight's just the turning on of the machine, the first (particle) collisions shouldn't happen for six to eight weeks," he said.

Once CERN has set a date for those collisions, Mr Hibbert-Wells said he might host another party.

"(Tonight's party) was sort of seen as a test event," he said.

But if the world were to end tonight, what would his final words be?

"My final words – because my girlfriend will be there tonight – would be to tell her I love her."

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