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On This Day in History: July 4th, 2012 - Bosonic particle discovered at CERN
Posted: 07/04/2012 10:58 by SirRoderickComments: 2
Today, CERN announced the results of it's most recent efforts to dicover the elusive Higgs Boson. Both of the massive detectors tasked with this search have
reported.

The CMS detector announces the discovery of a boson with a mass of 125.3 ± 0.6 GeV (Giga Electron Volt, a unit of energy) within 4.9 standard deviations (or sigma). Atlas detector results lie closer to 126 GeV, also at the level of 5 sigma. Interesting fact is that these energy ranges are roughly 130 times as high as those of a proton, indicating that this single particle is heavier than most commonly found elements. It really is massive.

These findings meet the formal level required to announce a new particle which is "consistent with" the Higgs boson, but scientists are cautious as to whether it is formally identified as actually being the Higgs boson, pending further analysis.

For those not familiar with the Higgs Boson, Firstly I would like to welcome you back from your lengthy stay undar a rock! Secondly, it is a fundamental particle in the so-called "standard-model" of physics, which is the currently used model to interpret and explain the universe.

On a more advanced level, the Higgs Boson is supposedly the particle that gives ALL other particles their mass. It is created by the exitation of the Higgs-field (analogeous to an electro-magnetic field), which is found everywhere in the universe. This is the reason they needed such a large particle accelerator to find it, since it requires collisions of truly massive proportions to even stand a chance of creating these particles.

HAPPY HIGGS DAY EVERYONE! ^_^

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By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on 07/04/2012 12:20
herodotus
Excellent post SirRoderick. We celebrated this yesterday, naturally, and for those who cannot relate to it's significance, try to liken it to the discovery of the Electromagnetic Field. No one knew what might come from that, but we have cellular phones, Networking, iPads...the list goes on.
Known commonly as the "God Particle", the implications for the field are as yet unknown. It does give a good model for understanding the nature and fabric of Black Holes and potentially a 4th Dimension. The next step is going after the ultimate Holy Grail of Physics - Gravity at the Quantum Level.

PS. Originally called "The God-Damned Particle" when written, the author was informed by the would-be publishers this would not sell. So he shortened the title, hence "The God Particle".
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on 07/04/2012 12:20
herodotus
So, Happy Higg's Day indeed:)