Scientists Find Particle Consistent With Higgs Boson

[webfact]

Scientists find particle consistent with Higgs boson

GENEVA: -- Scientists have discovered a new type of particle consistent with the long-sought Higgs boson, which would explain why there is mass in the universe, the CERN laboratory announced in Geneva Wednesday.

However, the experiment’s spokesperson Joe Icandela stressed that the results were preliminary. "The implications are very significant and it is precisely for this reason that we must be extremely diligent in all of our studies and cross-checks." "We have reached a milestone in our understanding of nature," said CERN director general Rolf Heuer.

British scientist Peter Higgs and others developed a theory explaining why matter exists, by introducing the Higgs boson as a key part of the mechanism that allows particles to gain mass.

The CERN scientists said that they now had to find out whether the new particle was the boson as described theoretically by Higgs. In this case, the discovery could underpin the so-called Standard Model of particle physics, which explains the world as we see it.

-- The Nation 2012-07-04

[webfact]

The Higgs particle - what it is and what it does

WHAT IS THE HIGGS BOSON?

The Higgs is the last missing piece of the Standard Model, the theory that describes the basic building blocks of the universe. The other 11 particles predicted by the model have been found and finding the Higgs would validate the model. Ruling it out or finding something more exotic would force a rethink on how the universe is put together.

Scientists believe that in the first billionth of a second after the Big Bang, the universe was a gigantic soup of particles racing around at the speed of light without any mass to speak of. It was through their interaction with the Higgs field that they gained mass and eventually formed the universe.

Full story: http://www.reuters.c...E86306W20120704

-- REUTERS 2012-07-04

[harrry]

So when Tywais has finished celebrating this latest discovery of nothing he can explain to us all about it.

Edited July 4, 2012 by harrry

[Tywais]

So when Tywais has finished celebrating this latest discovery of nothing he can explain to us all about it.

Now you're talking Philosophy, Kant specifically on the Meaning of Nothing from my 2nd year Philosophy course. How can you define nothing as at the point of definition it becomes something.

[maidu]

It sounds a bit like discovering an artifact of something that was very significant at the 1st instant of the big bang, but has no longer existed since then. - except in a particle accelerator - which recreated it for the tiniest of moments.

What existed before the 'Big Bang' - or are we to believe that time started at that moment also?

[dingdang]

before the "big bang", there was a beautiful world... women adored men and did everything for them... beer came out of natural fountains, fish and chips everywhere, prostate problems were unknown... but then, a few of the guys decided to build an accelerator, to find the god-particle...

[Farma]

This news makes the first photo of an atoms shadow by QLD's Griffith university seem insignificant.

[JurgenG]

I watch this on the news with my wife. When she asked what it was about, I was roughly able to explain what is "the god particle".

But then she asked why it was so important, more specifically in which way it's going to change our life ... I had to admit I wasn't really sure myself.

Any answer ?

[Ulysses G.]

As far as I can make out, it likely will not have any practical applications until we are dead, in the ground and rotted away.

[harrry]

As far as I can make out, it likely will not have any practical applications until we are dead, in the ground and rotted away.

Well isn't that where the God business is supposed to really kick in.,

[gregb]

It sounds a bit like discovering an artifact of something that was very significant at the 1st instant of the big bang, but has no longer existed since then. - except in a particle accelerator - which recreated it for the tiniest of moments.

What existed before the 'Big Bang' - or are we to believe that time started at that moment also?

The direction of time is defined by an increase in entropy of a system. The whole theory of the big bang, the standard model, and every other scientific theory of the past half century has to do with breaking of symmetry. The theory is that before the big bang, perfect symmetry existed. In this configuration, there could be no entropy and therefore no dimension of time. It was only after symmetry was broken, particles and anti particles were created, the anti particles decayed slightly faster, and matter as we know it today started to form, that time has meaning.

As for what broke the symmetry? That hasn't been addressed yet. But it does now appear that the theory from the standard model on why some particles have mass and others don't is one step closer to being accepted as a fundamental truth.

BTW, the Higgs bosons do exist today. The theory is that the Higgs field is all around us and is in fact what imparts mass to particles. Creating one that survives long enough to be measured...that has been the hard part. Presumably, on the Planck scale, the vacuum is seething with Higgs bosons.

[geriatrickid]

You are misinterpreting the results, and that is to be expected as you are all unenlightened. As a pastafarian, I know that this particle is actually a component of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. As I am a member of the Church of the FSM, I know this stuff and you should just accept what I tell you. http://www.venganza.org/

Thank you and Flying Spaghetti Monster bless you.

[Scott]

So, why did I miss the Rapture?

[cowslip]

Effects of this announcement - Not in our lives?

“practical applications”?? - a highly subjective term - life is more than mere “practicality”, will we experience the effects in our life time? For sure!

I would say the effect is immediate. It improves our understanding or at least our scientists understanding of existence or creation.

It largely finally supports the theory you can get something out of nothing......

To quote the Guardian.

“proof of an invisible energy field that fills the vacuum of space.”

It will immediately have effects on the work of scientists all over the world - It closes a chapter and allows people to move on to other investigations.......these are frequently funded by government funds - i.e. your taxes.

If you are the kind of simple person who doesn’t think but only reacts to changes in your physical circumstances then I would say that you are missing something.

More tangible will be the effects on art and culture (or even style). Anyone with a modicum of knowledge of cultural, art and design history will tell you that any major scientific achievement or breakthrough has almost always been reflected in the realms of art and culture. Art music design etc. can be expected to be influenced to some degree here....even language will accommodate it - Higgs’ boson and “God Particle” are virtually household phrases already.

Political effects? - Remember too that this is a discovery made in Switzerland - a Swiss/French project - NOT as has been the case since WW2 a US based discovery. - yet announced on July 4^th ??

Maybe another effect of this not happening on US soil (together with the demise of the space shuttle program)may encourage some politicians to divert money from arms and militarism back to real science?

On a lighter note - I suppose if you really want some physically tangible change....well could cold argue that....

“That just about wraps it up for God then” (D. Adams 1977)

.....so all you fundamentalists - Bush, Palin and the like take note - now you can admit you were barking up the wrong tree

[Ulysses G.]

Who caused the particle to be in the first place?

Edited July 6, 2012 by Ulysses G.

[GentlemanJim]

Who caused the particle to be in the first place?

Well I bet you a pound to a pinch of rocking horse s**t it wasn't a bloke who looked like that.

The perplexing thing is that mass is about one of the biggest most common things in the universe, yet it appears to be 'given' by one of the smallest, most elusive things in the universe.

In terms of practical application, surely if the particle can be identified (in reality) and it's secrets unlocked in terms of understanding where and when it will be, then scientists can work on manipulating it, perhaps then unlocking the hitherto impossibilities of space travel over considerable distances, faster than light speed travel, wormholes etc etc. 2150 might be a cool year to be around!

Edited July 6, 2012 by GentlemanJim

[canuckamuck]

I've been looking for that darned particle everywhere. Now they tell me it is in France!

[Xangsamhua]

The direction of time is defined by an increase in entropy of a system. The whole theory of the big bang, the standard model, and every other scientific theory of the past half century has to do with breaking of symmetry. The theory is that before the big bang, perfect symmetry existed. In this configuration, there could be no entropy and therefore no dimension of time. It was only after symmetry was broken, particles and anti particles were created, the anti particles decayed slightly faster, and matter as we know it today started to form, that time has meaning.

Or, as Hindu myth explains it, "the evolution of primordial prakriti [phenomena] into mind and matter begins when the equilibrium of prakriti is disturbed. .... [T]his is the dawn of the day of Brahma, a period of explosive expansion, not unlike the Big Bang of modern cosmology." (E. Easwaran, introduction to the Baghavad Gita)

Looks like those ancient Indian sages and poets knew a thing or two.

[maidu]

I watch this on the news with my wife. When she asked what it was about, I was roughly able to explain what is "the god particle".

But then she asked why it was so important, more specifically in which way it's going to change our life ... I had to admit I wasn't really sure myself. Any answer ?

Einstein had a quote; "Anyone who understands their work should be able to explain it to a five-year old." Not to denigrate anyone's wife, but here's a stab at what a boson is:

An extremely small, pervasive, mysterious and extremely short-lived (on it's own) sub-particle which gives mass to the tiniest building blocks of matter. It does so by effect, rather like a ghost.

[geriatrickid]

Political effects? - Remember too that this is a discovery made in Switzerland - a Swiss/French project - NOT as has been the case since WW2 a US based discovery. - yet announced on July 4^th ??

Maybe another effect of this not happening on US soil (together with the demise of the space shuttle program)may encourage some politicians to divert money from arms and militarism back to real science?

To set the record straight, it was announced beforehand that there would be a major statement at the Melbourne Australia conference that was to occur that week.The discovery was a discussion subject at the conference. Due to the importance of the discovery, the CERN folks pushed up the date to get some credit. In respect to the US involvement, yes it was a questionable decision when the US Congress refused funding that would have built the collider in Texas, but resistance was very strong from nutters and conspiracy theory spinners that insisted the world could end, that it became a hard sell to the US Congress. That however did not stop the USA from providing a large contingent of scientists working on the project. I believe the single largest demographic are physcists that come from California.

BTW, many of the EU scientists working on this project are either directly or indirectly funded by projects and companies that have some link to the military industrial complex. Therefore, I wouldn't go off on a tangent on the subject. You might want to look at some of the names involved and which universities and labs they are attached to.

[geriatrickid]

I watch this on the news with my wife. When she asked what it was about, I was roughly able to explain what is "the god particle".

But then she asked why it was so important, more specifically in which way it's going to change our life ... I had to admit I wasn't really sure myself. Any answer ?

Einstein had a quote; "Anyone who understands their work should be able to explain it to a five-year old." Not to denigrate anyone's wife, but here's a stab at what a boson is:

An extremely small, pervasive, mysterious and extremely short-lived (on it's own) sub-particle which gives mass to the tiniest building blocks of matter. It does so by effect, rather like a ghost.

Pretty good. I am sort of impressed, even though I still don't have a full understanding of the significance.

[GentlemanJim]

I watch this on the news with my wife. When she asked what it was about, I was roughly able to explain what is "the god particle".

But then she asked why it was so important, more specifically in which way it's going to change our life ... I had to admit I wasn't really sure myself. Any answer ?

Einstein had a quote; "Anyone who understands their work should be able to explain it to a five-year old." Not to denigrate anyone's wife, but here's a stab at what a boson is:

An extremely small, pervasive, mysterious and extremely short-lived (on it's own) sub-particle which gives mass to the tiniest building blocks of matter. It does so by effect, rather like a ghost.

Nope, I just read that to my 5 year old daughter, she said 'can I have another cookie please'.

[Steely Dan]

How long before someone devises the first Boson free diet?

Edited July 7, 2012 by Steely Dan

[Xangsamhua]

How long before someone devises the first Boson free diet?

The Higgs Bison-free diet.

[doggie888888]

Hey someone sent me a list of Higgs Boson jokes.

If nothing else, it can make jokes!

When a hog gets Large Hadron and collides with a bison, you get a Higgs boson.

[vincentc]

You are misinterpreting the results, and that is to be expected as you are all unenlightened. As a pastafarian, I know that this particle is actually a component of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. As I am a member of the Church of the FSM, I know this stuff and you should just accept what I tell you. http://www.venganza.org/

Thank you and Flying Spaghetti Monster bless you.

To be more specific, The Higgs Boson is one of the components of our Flying Holiness. These is no such a thing as a 'Field'; it is being held together by His Noodly Appendages.

[Xangsamhua]

A Higgs boson walks into a Catholic church.

"We don't allow Higgs bosons in here!" shouts the priest.

"But without me, how can you have mass?" asks the particle.

[cowslip]

55555! - GOD???? - So who created God?

At least since can say what gives matter mass.

I suppose the religions are too busy giving mass for that to matter

Edited July 7, 2012 by cowslip

[maidu]

a bit off topic, but if you've ever wondered what it would be like to be strapped to a rocket going 17,000 mph, or plummeting from space to the ocean, check out this video:

http://www.opencultu...urs_launch.html

It's all real footage. No animation, no dramatization, just 100% footage from cameras strapped to various places on the last Shuttle launch, the Endeavor.

it's also got real audio (nothing added, except the official mission control narration for initial launch sequence). Perhaps as interesting as anything else, is there is no splicing within the video segments. It's probably the only video (of any kind) you'll ever see which has no splicing, except for home movies of backyard barbecues and such. the polar opposite of nearly all videos on TV and movies, which often have several splices per second (ugh).

Definitely one of a kind.

Edited July 7, 2012 by maidu

[geriatrickid]

Wow. Best video ever.

Says it all : Here’s the good stuff that nerdgasms are made of

Amazing. Awesome. Brilliant. Fantastic. Incredible. And yes I just had a nerdgasm.