It has escaped no one how ironic it would be if the controversial Higgs Boson subatomic particle turned out not to exist at all. There’s been outlier talk about that, but the majority of theorists still agree the particle likely does exist and were eagerly awaiting its big reveal today in CERN here in Switzerland.
Too bad!
Reps this a.m. postponed the briefing, saying they had to be 100 percent sure they could display the subatomic particle — and they weren’t. These are conservative guys by nature. If they had not already successfully isolated it, they wouldn’t announce the major news of its discovery. It is true they must be absolutely sure to move forward with such a major discovery.
But here’s the rub — and quantum physics for you. The one and only thing physicists know for sure about quantum physics is that just their presence skews the results –the famed quantum principle of uncertainty. It’s a bizarre little world in there.
Excellent coverage at Reuters from crack reporter Rob Evans earlier today in Geneva.
Find the full story here, excerpted below. Rendering of a Higgs Boson in a subatomic theoretical conception at bottom, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
British scientist Peter Higgs put forward the boson particle back in 1964 — he wrote it gave matter the weight it needed during the Big Bang 14 billion years ago, which theorists believe created stars and the universe as a whole.
By Robert Evans
(Reuters) GENEVA, 12 DEC. 2011 — It has been called “the brick that built the universe,” “the angel of creation” and “the god particle.”
It is thought to have emerged from the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago and have brought much of the rest of the flying debris together to form galaxies, stars and planets.
It is a key component of the “Standard Model” – the all-encompassing theory developed by physicists of how the cosmos as we know it works at its basic level of particles and forces.
But until now, in the four decades since it was first posited, no one has convincingly claimed to have glimpsed the Higgs Boson, let alone proved that it actually exists.
At an eagerly awaited briefing on Tuesday at the CERN research centre near Geneva, two independent teams of “Higgs Hunters” – a term they themselves hate – were widely expected to suggest they were fairly confident they had spotted … READ FULL ARTICLE ON THE POSTPONED HIGGS BOSON PARTICLE REVEAL AT CERN ON REUTERS HERE.
“The Higgs Bison Big Reveal Today at CERN: Fail !”
Gina. You’re a genius! You’ve discovered the worlds first sub-atomic herd animal!
LOL. Someone just told me this. Typos are Freudian, but that one is beyond me. LOL! Well, you can’t spell ‘genius’ without ‘gina.’
Oh, wait, yes you can. LOL LOL! Fixed the typo. Boson okay in text, bison incorrectly (ha) in hed and excerpt. Whew. Thanks for keen eyes and great readers — love to catch an annoying typo. Happy Holidays! gs
Well thanks for being a good sport about it. Richi and I did get a giggle. Almost wish you hadn’t fixed the typos. A bit like Picasso fixing the Mona Lisa. xxx
…but you can’t wash your hands in a Higgs-buffalo…
LOL! You guys are hilarious! lol gs
CERN has had bison envy ever since Fermilab put a herd of them above the Tevatron. They keep the muons from showing off with that faster than light stunt. And the Europeans think the Americans are brash.. Sheesh!
Oh, to be an even-toed ungulate, generating masses for the W ± , and Z weak gauges, through electroweak symmetry breaking.
I think it’s time that the Higgs was put out to pasture. The thought of bovines at light speed is worrying me.
Or perhaps we’re talking about Smee, the famous foreman of the unlicensed deck crew aboard the Jolly Roger?
Ahahahah you nerds are funny. This article and the comments made my day happier.