You mean discovering the particle that gives things mass, and possibly ways to effect and exploit the properties of said particle would have no applications?

Your imagination is pathetic.

I don't think they're going to start cranking out anti-gravity machines because of what they discover. If they do, I'd like to know about it, hence asking about the practical applications.

Just because you cannot think of one right now, doesn't mean someone else in 5, 10, or 50 years won't figure out a revolutionary application for this research.

It's exactly you balanced-budget left-wing nutjobs that almost saved Hiroshima. "All splitting the atom does is blow stuff up!" you said, and we allllmost didn't do it. Well, my enormous tumor was recently shrunk to NOTHING by those split atoms, my man! And my shiny bald head gets me chicks in rave clubs. So where's your great big beautiful bastard God NOW?

you know that we'll have black hole bombs before we have flying cars. regardless, this could create tons of things, including incidental products, such as transport technology through magnets and subterranean tunnels like the scraped supercollider program, eliminating fuel usage in the transport of goods. space elevator. all kinda of other wonder point victories for us. and perhaps we'll be thinking with portals! i don't know. science needs more optimists.

I never said I was against it, the US canceled a much larger project in the early 90s, and that was a blow to science. Electricity wasn't very useful for its first hundred years too. I worry they won't get any household benefits I can have fun with before I die.

Then go get a masters in physics you lazy ass!

according to their website, they are in the final phases of the shakedown testing.

Must have gotten delayed a bit after the documentary was made.

Some news article said it was pushed into Spring 2008 because of an engineering problem. I hope it's at least a funny story.

An interesting related thing is that as other particle accelerators are decommissioned, they can crank them up to 11 until something burns out. They've gotten some useful research done by pushing obsolete accelerators way beyond their design limits, while they're waiting for CERN to finish building their new one.

That one young guy is the happiest scientist I've ever scene. More than anything that tells you that CERN is the particle physics equivalent of getting laid.

as opposed to what? god wrote it?

you understand nothing