• Question: What is the most dangerous particle?

    Asked by stefin456 to Zachary, Tim on 20 Nov 2013.
    • Photo: Tim Hollowood

      Tim Hollowood answered on 20 Nov 2013:

      interesting question. You might think it would be some radio active particle because they are generally not good for us, if they pass through our body they can damage cells and cause problems like cancer.
      But a lot of people don’t realise that black holes are just like fundamental particles. They have a mass and a charge and a spin…just like an electron. Now black holes are fascinating but also very dangerous because if you fell in you would be lost forever. The only thing you would leave would be a small increase in the black hole mass…your mass!
      Luckily we don’t have any black holes close to use so we are safe…but there is one at the centre of our galaxy.

    • Photo: Zachary Williamson

      Zachary Williamson answered on 21 Nov 2013:

      Any particle is dangerous if its traveling fast enough! For example, the Large Hadron Collider uses a proton beam. One their own protons are harmless enough (sort of), but because there are so many in that beam, traveling so quickly, any exposure to the beam wouldn’t just kill you through radiation poisoning: you would literally explode.

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