Physicists Have Found the Higgs Boson

OmegaFenix

OmegaFenix

The Legendary Troll Hunter
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At a meeting held at CERN this morning, scientists presented the latest results from the search for the long-sought Higgs particle. After 30 years of research and $9 billion of investment, they've changed the face of physics forever: they've found the Higgs boson.
Fabiola Gianotti, from the ATLAS experiment, explains:
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"We observe in our data clear signs of a new particle, at the level of 5 sigma, in the mass region around 126 GeV. The outstanding performance of the LHC and ATLAS and the huge efforts of many people have brought us to this exciting stage, but a little more time is needed to prepare these results for publication.
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In English? The 5 sigma measurement means that the scientists can be 99.9999 percent sure that the measurements are a result of the particle in question. However, they want to check a few things before they publish their data formally in an academic journal. Similarly, Joe Incandela from theCMS experiments is cautiously confident:
"The results are preliminary but the 5 sigma signal at around 125 GeV we're seeing is dramatic. This is indeed a new particle. We know it must be a boson and it's the heaviest boson ever found. 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."
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In simple language, then, two experiments at the LHC— CMS and ATLAS—have discovered a new boson, and it behaves like the Standard Model Higgs. That is enough to have Peter Higgs, the man after which the boson is named, excited:
"I am astounded at the amazing speed with which these results have emerged. They are a testament to the expertise of the researchers and the elaborate technologies in place... I never expected this to happen in my lifetime and shall be asking my family to put some champagne in the fridge."
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In fact, during the concluding slides of the presentation Peter even shed a tear. So. Sweet. CERN director Rolf Heuer went on to sum it up neatly at the end of the presentation, saying simply "I think we have it." As far as they are willing to say, then, physicists just found the Higgs boson—the invisible particle that gives everything mass and, in turn, holds the universe together.
Large parts of theoretical physics are built on the assumption that the Higgs exists, though its existence will also require physicists to rethink many of their existing theorems. The future of physics just got exciting.
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Source: Gizmodo
 
Give those researchers a bells!

I'd love to read the details of their research when they publish it!

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Read the Elegant Universe by Brian Greene, it will educate and blow your mind all at the same time. :)
 
MOnk said:
Read the Elegant Universe by Brian Greene, it will educate and blow your mind all at the same time. :)
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It still wouldn't explain to me what the hell is going on though... I don't know anything about Physics, since I'm assuming that's what it relates to when I see the Hardon Collider??

So in ENGRISH what does it mean?? How does it benefit us??
 
Actually the Elegant Universe would explain things since it discusses elementary particles and quantum mechanics, which is what the topic is all about.

Whether you would understand it or not is a different story. :) It does a job job of trying though.
 
Well that still doesn't explain the use of it and how it's going to benefit us. So essentially it may be a scientific breakthrough, but it's a pointless one if no one understands the use of this material. :rolleyes:
 
So it's pointless because you can't make something with it this very moment?

We discovered the angle of internal reflection of light long before we started making fibre optic cables. The person who discovered radio waves thought it was completely useless. We discovered X-ray long before they were used in medical devices.

Sorry dude but I'm going to have to call that statement ignorant. :(
 
sycogrim said:
Well that still doesn't explain the use of it and how it's going to benefit us. So essentially it may be a scientific breakthrough, but it's a pointless one if no one understands the use of this material. :rolleyes:
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Its not a material, its a particle, it already exists in you, your shoes and everything around you, its what makes stuff heavy. Some stuff has less of it (they are light) than others which has more (they are heavy). It has very little practical meaning to the laymen right now but it could change the way we look at the universe and help us understand it better which would/could oneday lead to all kinds of other breakthroughs.
 
MOnk said:
So it's pointless because you can't make something with it this very moment?

We discovered the angle of internal reflection of light long before we started making fibre optic cables. The person who discovered radio waves thought it was completely useless. We discovered X-ray long before they were used in medical devices.

Sorry dude but I'm going to have to call that statement ignorant. :(
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Omega explained better to me, and makes better sense. I wasn't being ignorant, I was simply stating that if it's only been found now and didn't have a purpose (which Omega explained it's multiple purposes) then it would be a pretty pointless finding if it wasn't a benefit towards the human race.
 
People still make breakthrough technologies using discoveries made 50, 100, 200+ years ago.
 
sycogrim said:
Omega explained better to me, and makes better sense. I wasn't being ignorant, I was simply stating that if it's only been found now and didn't have a purpose (which Omega explained it's multiple purposes) then it would be a pretty pointless finding if it wasn't a benefit towards the human race.
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Knowledge is never pointless. Just because we may not understand something's significance doesn't make it worthless.

To the ancient Greeks silicon would have been pointless but now we can't imagine a world without it.
 
sycogrim said:
Omega explained better to me, and makes better sense. I wasn't being ignorant, I was simply stating that if it's only been found now and didn't have a purpose (which Omega explained it's multiple purposes) then it would be a pretty pointless finding if it wasn't a benefit towards the human race.
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That sentence makes my brain hurt. Unfortunately too many people think like this & that is why the age of discovery has been replaced by the age of ignorance. Considering how very, very, VERY, little we know about Universe or even our own planet disregarding any finding are pointless is gross ignorance. Due to limited vision we haven't been to the moon in 40 years, if we hope to make it past the next millennium we need to throw off this ego of ignorance that is ripe in society nowadays and reignite the fires of curiosity and discovery in the hearts of men.

Sadly 90% of the people seeing headlines about the higgs-boson will have no idea what its really about and instead start signing petitions because the media insists on calling it the god particle.
 
It's why we spend 10,000,000,000x more money on equipment to blow ourselves up than we spend on discovering our own solar system.
 
OmegaFenix said:
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That sentence makes my brain hurt. Unfortunately too many people think like this & that is why the age of discovery has been replaced by the age of ignorance. Considering how very, very, VERY, little we know about Universe or even our own planet disregarding any finding are pointless is gross ignorance. Due to limited vision we haven't been to the moon in 40 years, if we hope to make it past the next millennium we need to throw off this ego of ignorance that is ripe in society nowadays and reignite the fires of curiosity and discovery in the hearts of men.

Sadly 90% of the people seeing headlines about the higgs-boson will have no idea what its really about and instead start signing petitions because the media insists on calling it the god particle.
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Ok I must say I won't argue with you, because you're right on all levels. I guess I am ignorant from the aspect that what I don't know exists, how to embrace it and yes the way I observed it previously before it was explained was a very wrong way and now that I understand it better, it sounds a lot more interesting.

I would just prefer it if these scientists would explain it better for those of us who don't understand their lingo.

MOnk said:
It's why we spend 10,000,000,000x more money on equipment to blow ourselves up than we spend on discovering our own solar system.
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Blowing ourselves up sounds like fun!!!! :D
 
sycogrim said:
It still wouldn't explain to me what the hell is going on though... I don't know anything about Physics, since I'm assuming that's what it relates to when I see the Hardon Collider??
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Not sure if on purpose or one of the funniest typing/spelling mistakes I have ever seen :) Didn't even have to fix it for you :)
 
TBlaar said:
Not sure if on purpose or one of the funniest typing/spelling mistakes I have ever seen :) Didn't even have to fix it for you :)
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It was on purpose :p, I was waiting for someone to flag me hahahahaha... :D

I've been calling it by that name, since I first heard about. :)
 
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