I finally had a chance to watch “The Next Big Bang” tonight. I actually enjoyed it a lot. Apart from the beautiful shots of the LHC experiments and seeing faces I recognize, I thought the sampling of physics topics was great. I especially noticed the focus on dark matter, then Higgs, then extra dimensions, then supersymmetry. That was not the order I expected, but since I’m partial to dark matter I was happy it beat the Higgs for first place. Of course, these are all potentially related issues, but now I’m being nerdy.
The documentary was informative, silly, and I enjoyed a lot of the graphics. Boy, I wish I could make two soccer balls collide and get beach balls.
If I felt one thing was off, it was that the LHC is referred to as “controversial” but that statement is never really explained. It’s alluded to, when mentioning black hole production, but ultimately I felt like they call it “controversial” but talk about none of the science debunking that controversy.
I hope it reruns. A LOT.
