Scientists at CERN to make an announcement on Wednesday
Scientists at the world’s biggest atom smasher plan to announce on Wednesday that they have gathered enough evidence to show that the long-sought “God particle” answering fundamental questions about the universe almost certainly does exist.
But after decades of work and billions of dollars spent, researchers at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, aren’t quite ready to say they’ve “discovered” the particle.
Instead, experts familiar with the research in CERN’s vast complex on the Swiss-French border say the massive data they have obtained will essentially show the footprint of the key particle known as the Higgs boson all but proving it exists but doesn’t allow them to say it has actually been glimpsed.
It appears to be a fine distinction.
Senior CERN scientists say the two independent teams of physicists who plan to present their work on July 4 are about as close as you can get to a discovery without actually calling it one.
“I agree that any reasonable outside observer would say, ‘It looks like a discovery,’” British theoretical physicist John Ellis, a professor at King’s College, London, who has worked at CERN since the 1970s, told The Associated Press.
CERN’s atom smasher, the $10-billion Large Hadron Collider, has been creating high-energy collisions of protons to help them understand suspected phenomena such as dark matter, antimatter and ultimately the creation of the universe billions of years ago, which many theorise occurred as a massive explosion, known as the Big Bang.
The discovery of the Higgs boson won’t change people’s lives, but will help explain the underpinnings of the universe. It would confirm the standard model of physics that explains why fundamental particles have mass. Those particles are the building blocks of the universe. Mass is a trait that combines with gravity to give an object weight.
The phrase “God particle,” coined by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Leon Lederman, is used by laymen, not physicists, more as an explanation for how the wonders of the subatomic universe work than how it all started.
Rob Roser, who leads the search for the Higgs boson at the Fermilab in Chicago, said: “Particle physicists have a very high standard for what it takes to be a discovery,” and he thinks it is a hair’s breadth away.
Mr. Rosen compared the results that scientists are preparing to announce to finding the fossilized imprint of a dinosaur. “You see the footprints and the shadow of the object, but you don’t actually see it.”
Though an impenetrable concept to many, the Higgs boson has until now been just that a concept intended to explain a riddle — How were the subatomic particles, such as electrons, protons and neutrons, themselves formed? What gives them their mass?
The answer came in a theory first proposed by physicist Peter Higgs and others in the 1960s. It envisioned an energy field where particles interact with a key particle, the Higgs boson.
The idea is that other particles attract Higgs boson and the more they attract, the bigger their mass will be. Some liken the effect to a ubiquitous Higgs snowfield that affects other particles travelling through it depending on whether they are wearing, metaphorically speaking, skis, snowshoes or just shoes.
Officially, CERN is presenting its evidence at a physics conference in Australia this week, but plans to accompany the announcement with meetings in Geneva. The two teams, ATLAS and CMS, then plan to publicly unveil more data on the Higgs boson at physics meetings in October and December.
It indeed is a bad idea naming the Higgs Boson the 'God particle'. For god's sake the
'God particle' has nothing to do with God or spirituality. It is indeed pathetic that many amongst us are unable to realize what kind of a scientific discovery this is, let alone appreciate it!
@Manish Gupta - for god's sake, the Higgs Boson particle has got nothing to do with Spirituality and God. This indeed is a wonderful discovery and many people fail miserably to appreciate it.
@Manzil - That's not very impressive at all. It seems to be a
favorite pastime of religious apologists to wait until science
discovers something and then to point to some verse in their
respective scriptures that seems to vaguely imply of suggest this
discovery. To illustrate what's fundamentally misguided about
this, the author Simon Singh went through the famous american
novel "Moby Dick"(written in 1851) and found that he could find
sentences which seemed to presage subsequent events in history
9/11, JFK assassination, Hitler and so on. In fact, you can go
back to any suitably large text and creatively find what you
want, especially if you already know(through science) what to
look for.
I'll tell you what will impress me. Find one of science's as yet
unsolved problems. Now plow your respective scriptures for the
answer and publish the results. Then let me tell you the whole
world will take your claims more seriously.
@Manish Gupta - Comments like yours confirms my suspicion that
calling the Higgs Boson the "God particle" is a really terrible
idea. This whole exercise of finding the particle has nothing at
all to do with finding God, an imaginary concept about which
scientists are wholly unconcerned. Apparently, the scientist who
coined this name wanted to call this the "Goddamn particle"
because it has proved so elusive, but the publishers wouldn't let
him. But now it seems the "God" label is proving to be a
distraction, keeping laypersons from understanding and
appreciating the magnitude of the discovery.
Scientists have discovered God's particle. What a crap ! After 100 years science will tell that what we found today is not God's particle rather something else. God's particle is even smaller than what we found today ? The fact is that Science can never detect the God's particle because God's particle is dimensionless which cannot be detected by any Physical instrument.
Even If science can discover God's particle, then why science is not able bring down the hatredness and bitter among countries and its people ? Why science is not able to bring down the bad attributes of a human being; namely lust, greed and pride to name a few ? Can Science see the God with the help of instrument/apparatus or by some mathematical expression/model ? Can science makes all the living being immortal ? Good luck to science and its scientific community !
"Spirituality begins where Science ends"- Albert Einstein
@Ganesh - No science isn't interested in following us like a nanny
and wiping the floor up after us. Science can never help to rid
humans of their ineptitude. As another commenter said, bore-wells
can be closed with a path-breaking scientific technology called a
lid. If the inept corporation fails to close it, science cannot do
anything about it.
Why don't the scientist develop a robot to pull a child out of a deep bore-well? Instead they were wasting money on unknown meta-science.
Then somebody will make an even deeper well.
Real solution to your "well" problem: Put a lid on it.
Congratulations for the scientists I think they almost got the footprint regarding HiggsBoson the God Particle.Well everything cannot be discovered in a specific time ,The concept of hypothesis may prove later the presence of particle and its properties.One question I have is if they discover the particle and represent it as the first particle that resulted the universe.Then I would like to ask from where did the particle come from.
@ Anindya Paul: I also feel that Prof. Satyendra Nath Bose could
have got Nobel Prize for the Boson related fundamental research.
But before talking of Nobel award we should remember that Indian
political establishment did not thought it fit to give highest
civilian award of Bharat Ratna to the great man when he was alive,
while many lesser mortal were awarded. Now with the existence of
Higgs-Boson particle is being proved, it will be highly appropriate
for Indian Government to confer Bharat Ratna to the great Indian
physicist posthumously.
The drunkard was looking for a dollar coin under the street light, in
the dead of the night.Neither the beat constable,trying to help,could
locate it.It was then he heard the loser,say that the coin fell in
the next street.In reply to the cop,the boozed up fellow said,there
is better light here for a search!Don't waste precious money looking
for God in a lab.In the words of Bhagavan Sri Ramana,He resides
within,if only you care to look,the way He has to be sought.It is
"Pure Consciousness",that evidently cannot be a 'physical matter'.
It bothers me to read a few comments -- especially like those of Mr
Ganesh and Ms Anindya Paul.
That knowledge is its own end and that national identity has no meaning
in its pursuit are such basic tenets of Science that someone questioning
them in a rather enlightened newspaper like The Hindu is disheartening.
Can anybody explin in simple english what is footprint of god particle
found b cos iam not able to understand the techenical terms mentioned .
pl can some body explin with examples it will be better for
understanding
If great Scientists are going to discover the God particle, it is really great! But as Ganesh says, why some scientists/engineers design a robot or any device to save a child from a very deep borewell. They can also think and design some device to change the criminals, cruel, greedy and unethical people to normal human beings. They can do many things to improve the day-today problems of ordinary human beings.
It's interesting that many seem to not know that it is called God Particle partly because the author of the book on it wanted to call it the Goddamn Particle but the publishers did not allow that name so he changed it to God. But he primarily called it that because it is something crucial yet elusive.
I am from science background.Hence the research on physics fundamentals regarding Higgs boson particle nick named as Gods particle is a marketing buzz word to catch media attention and public stunt as news item.We must remember that GOD IS NOT a particle/sub atomic particle for defining energy in terms of mass or zero mass postulates.God is a consciousness which cannot be measured,defined by perception turned inward or outward.The only proof of its existence is union with him .Hence conciousness could be felt by consciousness only and not by logical brain.eg compassion,happiness cannot be described or measured by any tools or MRI.It is a feeling intimated and felt by gods consciouness.That is why a dead body with live brain cannot express any thing.
Summary:Please keep the discovery of particle etc within the domain of Physics and Technology.It is good reseach and should be given all encouragement in terms of mony and moral support as it provides new vistas/avenues in science&tech.
Congratulations to the world of science that has now set its sights on
God itself. IS there a limit to what humans can do with all this new
progress? Perhaps science can work out at the same time a cure for
common cold ?
While really appreciating the efforts of scientists to "discover" the God particle, and noting that billions of dollars being spent on this research, I wonder that whether this is all worth nowadays while the whole world of nations are suffering from a deep economic recession. Everyday we hearing one nation or another (even so called G 7 nations) drooping down from severe economic crises. What good is this research ? How it is going to benefit a common man in today's advanced world ? By this, I don't mean that scientific research should stop, but instead, should continue in such a direction that it should help and improve the standard of living of a common man.
Really if Higgs boson discovered. It is going to strengthen the physics fundamentals.
It is disturbing to see that a national newspaper like 'The Hindu' carried an important article on the 'God Particle' on the front pages of its daily without even mentioning once the name of the Indian physicist Satyendra Nath Bose after whom the very partical 'Boson' is named. Higgs boson is one of the Bosons which are one of the two fundamental classes of subatomic particles which follow the Bose-Einstein statistics unlike the Fermions which obey the Fermy-Dirac statistics. Although more than one Nobel Prize was awarded for research related to the concepts of the boson, Bose–Einstein statistics and Bose–Einstein condensate—the latest being the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics, which was given for advancing the theory of Bose–Einstein condensates—Bose himself was not awarded the Nobel Prize. The finding or not of the so called 'God Particle' will be an ode to the Indian genius.I sincerely hope 'The Hindu' to pay due respect to Prof. Satyendra Nath Bose.
Why don't the scientist develop a robot to pull a child out of a deep bore-well? Instead they were wasting money on unknown meta-science.
Now each of the 101 religions and its frenzied followers are bound to claim a slice of the pie of that doggone God Particle, and set into motion another round of the stupidest and most boring controversies, reformations, revivals, rebirths etc etc....of the dead and dying religions in this era of scientific progress, innovations and breakthroughs..
Wish there was a scholarly H G Wells, who in his inimitable style, can beautifully write about the God Particle and come up with another of his magnum opus. Unfortunately, India's contribution in this fertile new area is the dismally INCREDIBLE ZERO, with top physicists and Nobel Laufreates like Dr. Venky Ramakrisnan flying off to the other edge of planet earth.
God's particle seems to be as elusive as God himself!
Very interesting.
Lately particle physics runs hand in hand with phillosophy.
Even the discovery of Higgs-Boson particle may create other God-
paricles which may be left undiscovered!
This is where science and spirituality meets.
Sanskrit shlokas written by saints say:
Brahmon particles are the ultimate building blocks of entire manifest
and unmanifest universe. They are self-determined, integrated and
free. They can thus produce out of them an infinite amount of
consciousness, energy and matter.
Scientist for over 100 years says that it is just mythology and is not
possible against laws of physics.
This Wednesday some Europe scientists are going to announce to the
world that it really exists and they have found evidence.They call it
G-0-d particle and rightly so.
This is awesome. I am finding it difficult to actually sink in the idea
that the 'god particle' has finally been found. If this really is the
case, the news calls for a grand celebration considering the huge repercussion it would have on the development of particle physics in the
near future.
Great news. People should think about this. It took so many years and billions of dollars spent to come to this conclusion. Can you even imagine that it can be said 1400 years ago from an illiterate man. Pls check this verse.
“And the heaven We created with might, and indeed We are (its) expander.” (Quran 51:47)
At the time of the revelation of the Quran, the word “space” was not known, and people used the word “heaven” to refer to what lies above the Earth. In the above verse, the word “heaven” is referring to space and the known universe. The verse points out that space, and thus the universe, happens to be expanding, just as Hubble’s Law states.
That the Quran mentioned such a fact centuries before the invention of the first telescope, at a time when there was primitive knowledge in science, is considered remarkable. Could it be that he had truly received divine revelation from the Creator and Originator of the universe?
Inventories and Discovries are important and they show a path to new things ,But the thing puzzles me extremely is the huge amount of money invested in these projects.The "GOD PARTICLE" discovery may explain the theory of formation of Universe.But I have a question from where does this Particle come from or how it was born.There are lot of unanswered questions in science.Well I believe there is nothing impossible ,hard work always leads to success.One thing I can say some answers can be found from the vedas and Purnas,Our ancinet sages explained the terminologies like "Anuvu and Parmanuvu".Let us hope that the discovery of the particle shall benefit us.
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