CERN black hole and portal conspiracy refuses to die

CERN, black holes and portals: between physics and superstition

In late July, CERN shut down its accelerators for maintenance. The technical pause was enough for the theory to resurface that the Large Hadron Collider is not just chasing particles, but can create black holes and even interdimensional portals. Nothing new under the sun: the idea has accompanied the facility since its inauguration.

The connection with the series Stranger Things is immediate. In the fiction, a similar accelerator opens the way to a parallel dimension. Although no data supports that equivalence, the image sells and nostalgia helps. Serious analyses, such as those published in outlets like Naukas or RTVE, remind us that this is a scientific facility with reviewed safety protocols and that the shutdown was a routine operation.

The most extreme versions go as far as speaking of "imported entities" or an alleged list of beings arrived from another dimension. There is no documentary evidence of any such thing. What there is, is a technical stop, announced in advance, which physicists use to calibrate equipment. The conspiracy theory only needs a calendar and a mental telescope.

In the end, the question is not whether CERN will open a portal, but why so many people prefer to believe it. The answer probably lies not in Geneva, but in the need to explain the inexplicable with fiction. For now, the only black hole is the one some people have in their understanding of physics.