What would happen if I was standing in the LHC

[Th3_PhYsIcS]

What would happen if I was standing in the LHC and I was hit by a (one) proton traveling at 99.999991% the speed of light. Would the collision burn a hole in me? or would it simply be going so fast that it passes through me without interacting with the particles in my body?

 

[A.T.]

Several physics professors were asked this question:

 

[Pds3.14]

There was someone who once got hit by a particle beam in the USSR, albeit of much lower energy. It seems to have made a high-aspect ratio, extremely deep but localized radiation burn. I.E. Burning a hole in him. He did live, but had permanent injuries and... weirdness happen to that side of his face and I think even seizures.

Of course, with just 1 singular particle, the energy would be on the order of like a microjoule or so, so it wouldn't do much damage, probably heat up your hand or kill a few cells or something. It also depends on whether, after going through your hand and depositing a small fraction of it's kinetic energy, it got to go back around the loop multiple times and continue repeatedly being slowed in your hand.If it weren't moving so fast, you'd normally imagine that it would just stop dead in it's tracks after getting nanometers into you and making an explosion, but I think at that speed, the cross section of an atom that could actually have much of an effect on it's trajectory is much smaller. It probably would have to hit the nucleus, and even then, I'm not sure if that would be "solid" enough to stop them from passing straight through each other and just heating up or being blown to smithereens, but nonetheless, not fully "colliding."

Basically, Newton's penetration depth calculation is utterly worthless here because the particles aren't colliding, they are going through each other, so it'd probably go through you, depositing a few GeV.

 

[OmCheeto]

There was someone who once got hit by a particle beam in the USSR...

Anatoli Bugorski
Bugorski was leaning over the equipment when he stuck his head in the path of the proton beam.

I couldn't find how many protons went through his head, but from the video provided by A.T., it sounds like they routinely deal with billions of them.
So my guess, without doing any math, would be that you wouldn't notice anything, if it were just a single proton.

 

[pmacias]

I cannot condone or recommend standing in the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) while it is in operation. The LHC is a highly complex and powerful machine used for particle physics research, and it is not designed for human occupancy. Additionally, the LHC is located in a controlled and restricted environment, and unauthorized entry can result in serious injury or death.

However, to answer your question, if you were somehow able to stand in the path of a single proton traveling at 99.999991% the speed of light, it is likely that the collision would result in significant damage to your body. The energy of the proton at this speed is immense, and it would transfer a large amount of its kinetic energy to the particles in your body upon impact. This could result in burns, tissue damage, and potentially even death.

It is also possible that the proton could pass through your body without interacting with the particles in your body, as you mentioned in your question. This is because protons are incredibly small and the space between particles in your body is mostly empty. However, the chances of this happening are very low, and it is more likely that the proton would interact with the particles in your body and cause damage.

In conclusion, it is not safe or advisable to stand in the LHC while it is in operation. The high energy particles and intense magnetic fields present in the LHC can have severe consequences for human health. It is important to always follow safety protocols and regulations when dealing with powerful scientific equipment.