Dazey Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 (edited) Pretty exciting news for anybody interested in a bit of the old science and wotnot!http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/large-hadron-collider/9374758/Higgs-boson-scientists-99.999-sure-God-Particle-has-been-found.htmlHiggs Boson: scientists 99.999% sure 'God Particle' has been found!Scientists believe they have captured the elusive "God particle" that gives matter mass and holds the physical fabric of the universe together. The historic announcement came in a progress report from the Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator. Professor John Womersley, chief executive of the Science and technology Facilities Council, told reporters at a briefing in London: "They have discovered a particle consistent with the Higgs boson. "Discovery is the important word. That is confirmed. It's a momentous day for science." Scientists say it is a 5 sigma result which means they are 99.999% sure they have found a new particle. Finding the Higgs plugs a gaping hole in the Standard Model, the theory that describes all the particles, forces and interactions that make up the universe. If the particle was shown not to exist, it would have meant tearing up the Standard Model and going back to the drawing board. The Cern laboratory appeared to have let slip its biggest breakthrough in a generation after appearing to announce the discovery of a new particle in an online video overnight. In the short film accidentally published by the lab yesterday spokesman Joe Incandela is seen describing how physicists at the Large Hadron Collider had "observed a new particle". Today scientists gathered in Geneva to announce the findings. Among the audience was Peter Higgs, the Edinburgh professor who first proposed the existence of the mysterious particle almost 50 years ago. Rumours had been rife that scientists hunting the Higgs were to announce today's finding but the video appeared to confirm the finding of a particle matching its description hours before it was confirmed. It was first theorised in the 1960s by Edinburgh-based physicist Peter Higgs, amongst others, and is credited for giving all other particles mass. But until now, it has proved impossible to pin down. Although their results are said to be strong enough to claim an official discovery, the scientists will avoid doing so because they remain unsure whether the particle they have found is indeed the Higgs. Cern spokesman James Gillies said the video was one of several filmed to cover every eventuality and did not directly relate to today's announcement. The Internet has been rife with rumours of a discovery ever since CERN, the European nuclear research facility, announced it would hold a press conference today with the leaders of its two gigantic experiments, ATLAS and CMS. Sources have told the Telegraph that ATLAS will today announce a 5-sigma signal and CMS will announce a 4.9-sigma signal of a new particle with a mass of 126.5 GigaelectronVolts (GeV) and 125.2 GeV respectively - a result which falls slap bang in the middle of the tough-to-explore region where many physicists were adamant the Higgs was hiding. The results being announced today definitively point to a new particle or particles which fit the description of a Higgs Boson, but further research will be needed to characterise it properly. The Higgs boson is the final piece of the Standard Model of Particle Physics, a theoretical model which describes the fundamental particles and forces that control our Universe. It was first theorised in the 1960s by Edinburgh-based physicist Peter Higgs, amongst others, and is credited for giving all other particles mass. But until now, it has proved impossible to pin down. To do so, scientists use the LHC to smash together protons at almost the speed of light and scour the debris for traces of particles that sprang into existence for just a fraction of a second before disintegrating. Sources have told the Telegraph that ATLAS will today announce a 5-sigma signal and CMS will announce a 4.9-sigma signal of a new particle with a mass which matches many physicists' idea of a Higgs Boson. An ATLAS researcher said there was "no question" the two detectors are seeing the same thing, adding: "A lot of bets are going to be settled up today”. “After so many years preparing and searching, it’s really amazing to see a clear signal emerge,” a CMS Higgs physicist added. “This is the sort of thing that makes me cry,” said an ATLAS Higgs physicist. “It's the kind of crying that accompanies winning something or being overwhelmed with happiness. Human thought and ingenuity have continually created and discovered, but this outdoes them all." Edited July 4, 2012 by Dazey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Len B'stard Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 so...whats it mean? what they've found like...some thingie that...holds atoms and molecules and all that crap together? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazey Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 (edited) I'm no physicist but basically it's evidence of what gives mass to everything in the universe if I'm not mistaken. Without that you'd never be able to form protons, electrons, atoms etc and it's been a missing piece of the puzzle explaining all that for years. Scientists had said that it had to exist for their theories to be correct but they've never been able to find it until now. Pretty exciting stuff! Given me a hadron! Damnit where's Aaron when you need him? Edited July 4, 2012 by Dazey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyDeeds Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 (edited) Well shit, when I woke up way too early this morning because i couldn't sleep and decided to groggily browse the forum, I never thought I would see that the biggest thing in physics in the last 70 years had probably happened. Looking forward to seeing consistent results in repeats of the experiment. Edited July 4, 2012 by DirtyDeeds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgy Zhukov Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Never thought I'd live to see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gunns Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Yeah that's cool and everything but can it make you breakfast or do the dishes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bumble's Bridge Pickup Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I don't understand physics at all but that sounds absolutely amazing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazey Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 Yeah that's cool and everything but can it make you breakfast or do the dishes?Why would you need dishes? Thought you convicts ate from troughs with your hands? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
izzygirl Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Well, it was predictable that the finding would be announced at the ICHEP 2012, but, after last events in the CERN, I think we should take these news with some caution.Anyway, we are closer than ever and I think very soon will be confirmed. Damnit where's Aaron when you need him? Maybe he has better things to do. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gunns Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Yeah that's cool and everything but can it make you breakfast or do the dishes?Why would you need dishes? Thought you convicts ate from troughs with your hands?We learnt that english habbit, before catching a boat away from thy shit hole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalsh327 Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 They're also keeping the announcements up to date here... Hawking sounds bummed out. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2012/jul/04/higgs-boson-discovered-live-coverage-cern?intcmp=239 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazey Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 Maybe he has better things to do. B)Hahaha! You think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
izzygirl Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Maybe he has better things to do. B)Hahaha! You think?Why the laugh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
izzygirl Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 The most important thing is not the discovery itself...it's that they used Comic Sans to show it to the world! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desperado Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Amazing not sure what it really is but sounds important and that's usualy good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tater Totts Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 The most important thing is not the discovery itself...it's that they used Comic Sans to show it to the world! QFT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyDeeds Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 They're also keeping the announcements up to date here... Hawking sounds bummed out. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2012/jul/04/higgs-boson-discovered-live-coverage-cern?intcmp=239Jesus, the science Holy Grail was discovered, and the response of the scientific community is, "OMG let me get on the Twitter!"lol, the age we are in is truly universal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnold layne Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Does it get you high? If not, not impressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YOUCOULDBEMINE. Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 So this basically proves that God isn't responsible for everything there is on this planet.Awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazey Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 So this basically proves that God isn't responsible for everything there is on this planet.Awesome.Well at least directly yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YOUCOULDBEMINE. Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 So this basically proves that God isn't responsible for everything there is on this planet.Awesome.Well at least directly yes. We need to get religious people to respond to this thread, could be really hilarious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Vega Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 "God" could've created the Higgs Boson particle.By "God" once more (as Atheists do tend to pretend all religion = fundamentalist Christianity) any supreme power or force. I am not an overly religious person; I am not a Christian and I do not favor organized religion. I simply believe in a higher force or power. Believing in there being a higher power, or a point to life, isn't exclusive from accepting evolution or gays or the Big Bang. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyDeeds Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 So this basically proves that God isn't responsible for everything there is on this planet.Awesome.Well at least directly yes. We need to get religious people to respond to this thread, could be really hilarious.It's already happened brosef. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillieC Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I read that the Higgs Boson was found hiding in the basement in a suburb, eating junk food, watching porn, and searching the Internet for narcissistic references to himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyDeeds Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 (edited) I read that the Higgs Boson was found hiding in the basement in a suburb, eating junk food, watching porn, and searching the Internet for narcissistic references to himself.Wow, then mygnrforum found the Higgs Boson 6,350 posts ago, on November 17, 2006! Amazing! Edited July 4, 2012 by DirtyDeeds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.