# Could the Higgs Boson be the genesis for artificial gravity? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 11, 2012, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-higgs-boson-be-the-genesis-for-artificial-gravity/627883 "2012-07-11T09:53:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2012, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-higgs-boson-be-the-genesis-for-artificial-gravity/627883/41 "2012-07-14T12:47:36Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I think the question to ask does acceleration actually curve space like mass does? Einstein says you can’t tell the difference. But IS there a difference ? Off the top of my head I can’t see how they would be the same… Yes and no. The concept is known as [Frame Dragging](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frame-dragging) and has been theorized for a long time (since 1916). A scientist came up with a way to measure this in 1956 but while the concept is simple enough the engineering necessary to build something sensitive enough to detect this took another 40 years. They had to manufacture the most perfect spheres (literally perfect not being possible) for the gyroscopes to pull this off. Each ping-pong ball sized sphere [does not vary by more than 40 atomic layers from being a perfect sphere](http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/04may_epic/). This was necessary to achieve the extraordinary precision necessary for the experiment. From the link just above: > [@](#): > > According to calculations, the twisted space-time around Earth should cause the axes of the gyros to drift merely 0.041 arcseconds over a year. An arcsecond is 1/3600th of a degree. To measure this angle reasonably well, GP-B needed a fantastic precision of 0.0005 arcseconds. It’s like measuring the thickness of a sheet of paper held edge-on 100 miles away. Gravity Probe-B was launched in 2004 and it confirmed this frame dragging effect. Important to note here though is the incredible precision necessary to measure such a tiny effect that is being caused by the entire earth. The tilt-a-whirl may do the same thing I suppose the same as you experience time dilation when you walk to the bathroom but the effect is so insanely minor at this scale I think you can say that for all practical purposes the tilt-a-whirl is not curving spacetime. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2012, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-higgs-boson-be-the-genesis-for-artificial-gravity/627883/42 "2012-07-14T21:36:37Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Sure if we had unlimited energy maybe. The LHC uses 92 megawatts per hour to run according to this page: Just “92 megawatts”; alternatively, “92 megawatt-hours per hour” if you think that makes any meaningful difference. Megawatt-hours are energy, megawatts are power (energy per time), megawatts per hour - if they have any meaning at all - measure rate of change of power. ---
**Author:** ![CallMeJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@CallMeJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CallMeJay)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-higgs-boson-be-the-genesis-for-artificial-gravity/627883/43 "2012-07-16T09:33:19Z")
Hi, I am not a physicist, but in IT, a trekky fan and have been following scientific discoveries on Earth through the usual grapevine. Reading the various interesting ideas I am convinced we have the answer nearby but we are not focused on the subject enough to answer the equation correctly. Maybe we need more sleep and walking through green fields. We have the capability for endless energy from Nuclear Fussion e.g. via “Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor” a.k.a TFTR. Also, we have good knowledge of various containment fields, including one of its very useful ability to to contain anti-matter. We define space as something containing nothing i.e. void. However, we now predict it contains either/or both dark energy (not dark matter) and the Higgs Bosen (HB). Therefore, before jumping into blind uses, lets understand the HB behaviour, its underlying components, how to manipulate it and then we are in a position to replicate some of its behaviour to induce the effect of gravity through mass. Think about this, in a containment field we are able to use very strong magnetism to control atomic / sub-atomic particles that may have a charge. If we use the same powerful magnets on living things it will incurably destroy them. So, how does nature get around this problem. And, really gravity is not the same as magnetism, though it share similar behaviours. Can it be that we can maybe use these containment fields, to create and destroy mass, to gain the affects of gravity, but eliminate the accumulation of mass! Almost similar to the AC electron flow. Also, is dark energy and HB going to allow us manipulate space travel i.e. travel billions/light years in seconds? We may already have visitors from other planets who are travelling in a different/un-detectable form. Some interesting questions, but my physics is flawed, so I apologies for mocking anyone, or theories. **“I really believe we are standing beside the mountain of discovery, starring right at us and all the time. We just to look around to see it."** (phrase copyright by CallMeJay 2012). ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-higgs-boson-be-the-genesis-for-artificial-gravity/627883/44 "2012-07-16T16:08:36Z")
> [@CallMeJay](#): > > I am not a physicist That much is apparent. For one thing, we don’t have anything close to an efficiently operating fusion reactor yet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-higgs-boson-be-the-genesis-for-artificial-gravity/627883.md?page=2)