Lab allays Angels & Demons fear
2009-02-14 20:30
Geneva - The European physics laboratory
that reassured us it wouldn't destroy the Earth in a "Big Bang"
experiment last year is now telling people not to fret about
antimatter.
Physicists at the European Centre for Nuclear Research
(CERN) are keen to separate fact from fiction in Hollywood's
upcoming adaptation of the Dan Brown novel Angels & Demons, in
which a secret society tries to annihilate the Vatican with
antimatter stolen from the lab on the Swiss-French border.
CERN spokesperson James Gillies said that while director Ron
Howard "tried to get the science as right as is possible in the
film", some aspects of the fictional plot are unavoidably
fantastical.
"The basic problem is the concept of antimatter," he said.
"You cannot make that much."
In a statement coinciding with a visit of Angels & Demons
stars Tom Hanks and Ayelet Zurer to the research centre, CERN
said its production of low-energy antiprotons could help solve
the mystery of why matter has triumphed over antimatter, and
also lead to life-saving technology, such as cancer treatment.
"As Dan Brown correctly points out, when matter and
antimatter meet, they annihilate, leaving only energy behind,"
CERN said.
"One of the great mysteries of the universe today is
how enough matter has survived to provide the building blocks
for stars, planets, and even us."
Matter and antimatter are believed to have been created in
equal amounts in the Big Bang that cosmologists say started up
the universe 13.7 billion years ago, though today antiparticles
are extremely rare.
Cancer scans
Cancer tests using positron emission tomography, known as
PET scans, also rely on antimatter, CERN said.
"Preliminary
experiments carried out at CERN have shown that antimatter
particle beams could be very effective at destroying cancer
cells."
While most of Angels & Demons was shot in Rome, the opening
sequence includes images inside CERN's Large Hadron Collider,
which Gillies described as "more visually spectacular" than the
Antiproton Decelerator complex.
The filming took place last year, before the 27km tunnel was sealed to begin experiments on the smallest building
blocks of matter.
CERN was forced to allay public concerns it
might spawn black holes that would swallow the Earth.
Cooling system problems later caused the collider experiment
to stop. CERN said this week it would not restart until
September to allow time for repairs.
Howard - who also directed the Da Vinci Code, A Beautiful
Mind and Apollo 13 - said he was awed by work underway at CERN.
"The scientists here have been incredibly helpful in
explaining the science to us, and giving us access to some
incredible places.
"I think what they're doing here is
fantastic," he said in a statement.