In this post I am talking science fiction… or am I? There was the recent news that scientists are going to use the Large Hadron Collider to create tiny black holes to determine if the universe has multiple dimensions.

Yeah, I was sucked into this article like a particle crossing over the event horizon of a supermassive black hole. If you’re looking for LHC information, their website is here: The Large Halon Collider. Their site has a virtual walkthrough as well as the history of the LHC facility and even a live section that tells what the LHC is doing right now (I just looked at it and it says the beam is off… bummer).

Here is one article titled: Large Hadron Collider set to discover FIFTH dimension and doorway to other universes. This article describes a theory called the “brane theory” as in membrane.

Scientists are searching for proof of the baffling ‘brane’ theory (short for membrane) which says a series of ‘two-dimensional’ universes may be only microscopic distances from ours – and they may be contactable, or even act as doorways from one to the other.

Large Hadron Collider set to discover FIFTH dimension and doorway to other universes, by paul Baldwin

I encourage anyone reading this to click into the article and watch the video about string theory which this theory is related to.

Another article is titled: Large Hadron Collider Could Detect Extra Dimensions. This article describes the idea behind this research should prove that other universes exist in other dimensions. Not alternate universes, but another physical universe, possibly infinite numbers of them. The scientists involved in this will prove their theory by detecting gravity that can leak through from another universe. This will be done by creating tiny black holes with the LHC. What I like about this article is that it’s not completely dumbed down and it has multiple links to each subject that are referenced. Here’s a quote from the article:

“What we mean is real universes in extra dimensions,” says Faizal. “As gravity can flow out of our universe into the extra dimensions, such a model can be tested by the detection of mini black holes at the LHC.”

Large Hadron Collider Could Detect Extra Dimensions, by Stephen Luntz

Which is a quote of a quote… See what I did there?

To boil this down, there is a connection between the many-worlds hypothesis and string theory. The string theory proof requires the existence of 10 dimensions (to make the math work). Using the LHC, if the universe has only four dimensions, then it would take 10¹⁶ Tev (trillion electron volts) of power to create a black hole with LHC. Which is far beyond the capability of LHC. According to the article, if the universe has 10 dimensions, then the energy required would be smaller than the amount already used by the LHC and we should have already detected black holes form.

This paper: Absence of black holes at LHC due to gravity’s rainbow, theorizes that the LHC should see black holes at an energy level of 11.9 Tev, which is within the capability of LHC’s capacity (the maximum designed capacity of the LHC is 14 Tev).

What does this all mean?

For science fiction writers, this could provide a lot of fodder for stories, including exploring other dimensions, or universes as well as the possibility of shortcuts through our own universe to get around the physical speed limit of light. If it’s possible to deform our dimensions to create a black hole and bridge multiple dimensions (I’m assuming that’s the process), then could we build a machine that would form a bridge into another dimension, then form another bridge back into our dimensions at a different location in space?

The first article I cited (Large Hadron Collider set to discover FIFTH dimension and doorway to other universes) talks about four dimensions. They casually mention three physical dimensions and time as a fourth dimension. If time represents a physical dimension, then perhaps we could bridge from our current dimensions into a different location in time. Ala, time machine!

Cern has an article as well: Extra dimensions, gravitons, and tiny black holes. This article starts with a discussion of the fact that gravity is the weakest force of nature. They theorize that gravity feels weak because it is spread across multiple dimensions. In other words, gravity can bridge or exists in multiple universes at once. It’s a fascinating read and dives into theorizing why the universe is expanding and why gravity is such a weak force.

The conclusions of each of these articles are greater than just finding multiple dimensions. If a micro black hole is detected at 11.9 Tev, then that would help prove several theories all at once. Which is an exciting thought. However, science is full of failures, which teaches us other things. Such as, the fact that each of these theories have flaws in them (if they don’t detect a micro black hole). If a black hole is not detected, then scientists will have to revisit their theories and revise them to include what has been observed. I’m betting that the experiment will need to be repeated several times, no matter what is discovered. Repeatability is necessary to exclude the possibility of a mistake in the experiment or failure in the equipment.

What about those black holes?

There’s the scary thought about creating a black hole. If we create one, won’t the entire Earth get sucked into it? Well, not exactly. We’re not talking about a black hole that is visible. Such an event will be microscopic and last for the briefest of moments. The Cern article talks about the microscopic black holes lasting 10^-27 seconds. The only way scientists will know that they even existed will be through their decay, that will cause particles that will leave tracks on the detectors.

When?

The most difficult question to find on the Internet is “when” will this experiment occur? I’ve dug through Cern’s information about the LHC and apparently, there was a long shutdown (called LS2) that occurred to upgrade some of the cryogenic refrigeration units. These refrigeration units take months to get the temperature of helium down to the nominal operating temperature of 1.9 Kelvin. This is done in three stages: Room temperature to 80 K, 80 K to 4.5 K, then seven weeks to go from 4.5 K to 1.9 K. The LHC is scheduled to be ready for operation in the Spring of 2021.

Of course, that only indicates that the experiment will take place after the Spring of 2021 and not exactly when. I suspect that there is no firm schedule as of this time. Stay tuned and I’ll update this article when I find out the exact date (If you find the scheduled date, feel free to leave a comment).