A German woman who feared the Earth would be sucked into oblivion in a black hole failed Tuesday in her court bid to stop the work of the world's most powerful atom smasher.The higher administrative court in Muenster, western Germany, rejected her claims, ruling there was no evidence the work of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) posed a danger to public safety.
"The plaintiff ... was worried that the experiments could produce so-called 'black holes' which could eventually lead to the destruction of all life on Earth," the court said.
However,
those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things...
the court noted that the CERN's own safety reports ruled out any danger to life. "Objectively, there is no evidence to doubt the correctness of these safety reports nor was any conclusive evidence presented," it ruled.
The woman had failed in a previous attempt to stop the work of CERN in Switzerland
...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell...
at the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe.
Other opponents have also sought to stop the experiments, fearing either a black hole whose super gravity would swallow the Earth or a theoretical particle called a strangelet that would in turn liquidize the planet.