Sir, It is interesting that there is agreement that mini black holes could be created during the experiments at CERN (“Mysteries of the Universe will be solved, starting next Wednesday,” Sept 4) and the debate centres on whether they would be a risk.

As an engineer well versed in risk management, I appreciate that highly improbable events can take on significant importance when measured against the gravity of the risk and I am interested in the mechanism to reach rational conclusion in such debates. First, the experts at CERN have stated that exhaustive safety checks have been carried out and on conclusion there is no risk. Surely such deduction is based on evidence of known phenomena and state-of-the-art modelling, whereas I understand the whole purpose of the scientific work is to go beyond what is known to either prove theory or discover new phenomena to advance our knowledge. Simply put: if they are so sure as to the certainty of the outcome as to pose absolutely no risk why do we need to carry out the experiments at all?

Secondly, it is not without reason to speculate that other intelligent life forms should have achieved a sufficiently advanced development to make their presence known but we see absolutely no evidence. However, we have discovered a substantial number of black holes.

Geoff O’nion
Monaco

Sir, Thank you for your very informative and terrifying coverage of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiment. One question remains to be answered.

Brian Cox, of the University of Manchester, says: “It will discover exciting things. We just don’t know what they are yet.”

How on earth does one raise billions in sponsorship with a pitch like that?

David Christopher Blair
Cheltenham, Glos

Sir, We live in a world where we have millions of people suffering and dying through lack of food and water and in a country where there are many cancer patients who are deprived of drugs that could extend their lives and relieve their pain.

Yet we are prepared to spend £3.5 billion on an open-ended academic research project with no obvious objective.

Please, give me a shake — I must be dreaming.

Don Fairley
Sanderstead, Surrey

Sir, It should be realised that because of the LHC’s location, any black hole that it creates will first destroy much of the European Union, including Strasbourg and Brussels, before its event horizon expands sufficiently to engulf Britain. We should be thankful for small mercies.

Anthony Knight
Amersham, Bucks

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