--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Experiments that crash atoms together…" description: "\"Experiments that crash atoms together could start a chain reaction that erodes everything on Earth.\" — Martin Rees" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef0/martin-rees-3002_atoms_experiments-that-crash-atoms-together-co_2937956.jpg" --- # Experiments that crash atoms together could start a chain… ![“Experiments that crash atoms together could start a chain reaction that erodes everything on Earth.” quote by Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef0/martin-rees-3002_atoms_experiments-that-crash-atoms-together-co_2937956.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef0/martin-rees-3002_atoms_experiments-that-crash-atoms-together-co_2937956.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef0/martin-rees-3002_atoms_experiments-that-crash-atoms-together-co_2937956.jpg) > “Experiments that crash atoms together could start a chain reaction that erodes everything on Earth.” [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. High‑energy particle collisions could trigger a chain reaction that threatens planetary stability, highlighting existential risks from advanced science. **In simple terms:** Particle experiments might end the world. Key Takeaway We existential risks of scientific research. Themes science risk existential Mood concerned thoughtful Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - lab safety protocols - public communication - regulatory oversight Key Concepts cosmology particle physics Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards are needed for high‑risk experiments? - How to balance discovery with caution? A Different Perspective Scientific progress often outpaces safety measures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms/) [Atoms Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms-start-4365518/) [Chain Reaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chain-reaction-566717/) [Chain reactions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chain-reactions/) [Chains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chains/) [Crash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crash/) [Crash Atoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crash-atoms-4365517/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Erode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erode/) [Erodes Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erodes-earth-4365515/) [Experiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiments/) [Reaction Erodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reaction-erodes-4365516/) [Reactions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reactions/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) ## Related quotes > [Scientists say every action initiates an equal and opposite reaction. I say that's just the start. I say every action initiates a most unequal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/scientists-say-every-action-initiates-an-equal-and-opposite-reaction/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [For every positive change you make in your life, something else also changes for the better - it creates a chain reaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-brown/for-every-positive-change-you-make-in-your-life-something-else-also/) [Leon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-brown/) > [I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion then it will start a chain reaction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-scott/i-have-this-theory-that-if-one-person-can-go-out-of-their-way-to-show-2/) [Rachel Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-scott/) > [My pen and paper causes a chain reaction, to get your brain relaxing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/my-pen-and-paper-causes-a-chain-reaction-to-get-your-brain-relaxing/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [We never know which of us will start the chain reaction. But one of us will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-beavan/we-never-know-which-of-us-will-start-the-chain-reaction-but-one-of-us/) [Colin Beavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-beavan/) > [Said she liked my necklace, started relaxin - now that's what the fuck I call a chain reaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/said-she-liked-my-necklace-started-relaxin-now-that-s-what-the-fuck-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Put kindness into action and you might just start a chain reaction!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amey-hegde/put-kindness-into-action-and-you-might-just-start-a-chain-reaction/) [Amey Hegde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amey-hegde/) > [We work because it's a chain reaction, each subject leads to the next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eames/we-work-because-it-s-a-chain-reaction-each-subject-leads-to-the-next/) [Charles Eames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eames/) > [Once '0 to 100' happened, it sort of spun this chain reaction - really the first big record that I was a part of.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-dukes/once-0-to-100-happened-it-sort-of-spun-this-chain-reaction-really-the/) [Frank Dukes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-dukes/) > [Treat someone the way you woulf like to be treated and then you just might start a chain reaction.!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/treat-someone-the-way-you-woulf-like-to-be-treated-and-then-you-just/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Nothing is unexplained. Nature is a chain reaction. Everything is dependent on something else. The smallest is as important as the largest”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryce-courtenay/nothing-is-unexplained-nature-is-a-chain-reaction-everything-is/) [Bryce Courtenay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryce-courtenay/) > [“We did everything correctly, following the established plan approved by management!' Just as under socialism--we do and did everything correctly, yet life, the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgi-tenev/we-did-everything-correctly-following-the-established-plan-approved/) [Georgi Tenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgi-tenev/) > [You just may start a chain reaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-scott/you-just-may-start-a-chain-reaction/) [Rachel Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-scott/) > [I have this theory that if one can go out of their way to show compassion, it will start a chain reaction of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-scott/i-have-this-theory-that-if-one-can-go-out-of-their-way-to-show/) [Rachel Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-scott/) > [“Chat is like the ball… you throw it... then they... then you… then they... until one of you... stops... and the chain reaction is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deyth-banger/chat-is-like-the-ball-you-throw-it-then-they-then-you-then-they-until/) [Deyth Banger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deyth-banger/) ## More by Martin Rees > [A monkey is unaware that atoms exist. Likewise, our brainpower may not stretch to the deepest aspects of reality. The bedrock nature of space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/a-monkey-is-unaware-that-atoms-exist-likewise-our-brainpower-may-not/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [When scientists are asked what they are working on, their response is seldom 'Finding the origin of the universe' or 'Seeking to cure cancer.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/when-scientists-are-asked-what-they-are-working-on-their-response-is/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [The advance of science spares us from irrational dread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/the-advance-of-science-spares-us-from-irrational-dread/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [“The Sun contains about a thousand times more mass than Jupiter. If it were cold, gravity would squeeze it a million times denser than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/the-sun-contains-about-a-thousand-times-more-mass-than-jupiter-if-it/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [“We, and the visible universe around us, may exist only because of a difference in the ninth decimal place between the numbers of quarks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/we-and-the-visible-universe-around-us-may-exist-only-because-of-a/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [Crucial to science education is hands-on involvement: showing, not just telling; real experiments and field trips and not just 'virtual reality.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/crucial-to-science-education-is-hands-on-involvement-showing-not-just/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [I have no religious belief myself, but I don't think we should fight about it. In particular, I think that we should not rubbish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/i-have-no-religious-belief-myself-but-i-don-t-think-we-should-fight/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [“More energy is needed to rise a millimetre above a neutron star's surface than to break completely free of Earth's gravity. A pen dropped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/more-energy-is-needed-to-rise-a-millimetre-above-a-neutron-star-s/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [The next humans to walk on the moon may be Chinese. Only China seems to have the resources, the dirigiste government, and the willingness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/the-next-humans-to-walk-on-the-moon-may-be-chinese-only-china-seems/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [If we ever established contact with intelligent life on another world, there would be barriers to communication. First, they would be many light years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/if-we-ever-established-contact-with-intelligent-life-on-another-world/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [There is an ever-widening gap between what science allows and what we should actually do. There are many doors science can open that should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/there-is-an-ever-widening-gap-between-what-science-allows-and-what-we/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [An insect is more complex than a star..and is a far greater challenge to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/an-insect-is-more-complex-than-a-star-and-is-a-far-greater-challenge/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [The physicist is like someone who's watching people playing chess and, after watching a few games, he may have worked out what the moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/the-physicist-is-like-someone-who-s-watching-people-playing-chess-and/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [We are 'nuclear waste' from the fuel that makes stars shine; indeed, each of us contains atoms whose provenance can be traced back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/we-are-nuclear-waste-from-the-fuel-that-makes-stars-shine-indeed-each/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [Just as there are many Jews who keep the Friday ritual in their home despite describing themselves as atheists, I am a 'tribal Christian,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/just-as-there-are-many-jews-who-keep-the-friday-ritual-in-their-home/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) [Explore all 143 Martin Rees quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) ## More Atoms quotes > [If the polymer chain assumes a helicoidal conformation in the crystalline state, and if it does not contain asymmetric carbon atoms, it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giulio-natta/if-the-polymer-chain-assumes-a-helicoidal-conformation-in-the/) [Giulio Natta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giulio-natta/) > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [A monkey is unaware that atoms exist. Likewise, our brainpower may not stretch to the deepest aspects of reality. The bedrock nature of space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/a-monkey-is-unaware-that-atoms-exist-likewise-our-brainpower-may-not/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [ \[Decoding the human genome sequence\] is the most significant undertaking that we have mounted so far in an organized way in all of science.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/decoding-the-human-genome-sequence-is-the-most-significant/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [Though an atom is invisible, unthinkable, yet in it are the whole power and potency of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/though-an-atom-is-invisible-unthinkable-yet-in-it-are-the-whole-power/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Traditional nationalism cannot survive the fissioning of the atom. One world or none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-chase/traditional-nationalism-cannot-survive-the-fissioning-of-the-atom-one/) [Stuart Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-chase/) > [I am not sure why, but I have been obsessed by the Atom Bomb ever since it first happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanford-wilson/i-am-not-sure-why-but-i-have-been-obsessed-by-the-atom-bomb-ever/) [Lanford Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lanford-wilson/) > [History is the short trudge from Adam to atom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-is-the-short-trudge-from-adam-to-atom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The dogma of the impossibility of determining the atomic constitution of substances, which until recently was advocated with such fervor by the most able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-korner/the-dogma-of-the-impossibility-of-determining-the-atomic-constitution/) [Wilhelm Korner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-korner/) > [I have never seen what to me seemed an atom of proof that there is a future life. And yet-I am inclined to expect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-seen-what-to-me-seemed-an-atom-of-proof-that-there-is-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“An atom is mostly made up of empty space. If you remove the empty space from every atom, the entire world's human population could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/weike-wang/an-atom-is-mostly-made-up-of-empty-space-if-you-remove-the-empty/) [Weike Wang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/weike-wang/) > [Nature is full of wonders; every atom is a standing miracle, and endowed with such qualities, as could not be impressed on it by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/nature-is-full-of-wonders-every-atom-is-a-standing-miracle-and/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [ “\[Think\] of an experience from your childhood. Something you remember clearly, something you can see, feel, maybe even smell, as if you were really… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-grand/think-of-an-experience-from-your-childhood-something-you-remember/) [Steve Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-grand/) > [The books remind us that way down deep in our hearts, part of us knows that we are creatures of light and we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/the-books-remind-us-that-way-down-deep-in-our-hearts-part-of-us-knows/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) [Browse all 852 Atoms quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Experiments that crash atoms together could start a chain reaction that erodes everything on Earth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Rees" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/experiments-that-crash-atoms-together-could-start-a-chain-reaction/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atoms" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/experiments-that-crash-atoms-together-could-start-a-chain-reaction/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef0/martin-rees-3002_atoms_experiments-that-crash-atoms-together-co_2937956.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef0/martin-rees-3002_atoms_experiments-that-crash-atoms-together-co_2937956.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef0/martin-rees-3002_atoms_experiments-that-crash-atoms-together-co_2937956.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Experiments that crash atoms together could start a chain reaction that erodes everything on Earth.” — Martin Rees", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Martin Rees", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Experiments that crash atoms together could...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/experiments-that-crash-atoms-together-could-start-a-chain-reaction/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/experiments-that-crash-atoms-together-could-start-a-chain-reaction/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```