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Join us below at 11 A.M. Eastern time on Wednesday, July 4 for a live 30-minute online chat with physicist Michael Tuts of Columbia University, who will discuss an early-morning announcement from CERN, a Switzerland-based lab for particle physics, about the long-running search for the Higgs boson. We invite you to submit questions in advance in the comments section at the bottom of this page.
The Higgs particle, first hypothesized in the 1960s by physicist Peter Higgs and others, would help explain why elementary particles, such as quarks, have mass. Finding the Higgs—or ruling out its existence—was the prime motivation for building the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), where researchers collide protons traveling at nearly light-speed to create new particles.
[Click here to watch a Webcast of the announcement starting at 3 A.M. EDT Wednesday. The chat will take place later in chat box below.]
Michael Tuts, the U.S. operations program manager for the ATLAS detector at the LHC, will answer your questions during the chat about the Higgs, the LHC and what comes next in particle physics if indeed the Higgs has been found. We will turn on the capacity to log in to the chat box below around 10:50 A.M. EDT.
CHAT TRANSCRIPT
Robin Lloyd
Hi everyone -- I'm Robin Lloyd, Scientific American's news editor. Thanks for all the early questions!
Marc Weyl
Does this mean the end for String Theory? What now for the LHC as finding this is what it was built for?
EricROlson
Can someone explain what is meant by a '5 sigma event' and how it relates to identification of the Higgs?
Robin Lloyd
Hi, Eric.
Robin Lloyd
Good question.
Robin Lloyd
We might try to start chat a little early. John Matson, Scientific American's physics/math/space editor will host.
EricROlson
Hi Robin. Also, for everyone else, I am Scientific American's video editor.
Diane!
If the Higgs Boson is responsible for giving other particles their mass, what gives the Higgs Boson its mass?
Robin Lloyd
Good question, Diane, ha. One thing that amazes me about this finding is that the new particle is about 100 times mass of proton!
Robin Lloyd
So all these years we hear about the proton. And in terms of mass, it's ~100th the size of this new particle.
Hugo Alberto Gonzalez
Hi all I would like to know whether this confirmed the existence of the Higgs particle, which follows after and whether they will study some
Robin Lloyd
For those waiting for chat to start in full, our host will be John Matson, Scientific American's space, math and physics editor
Robin Lloyd
Hi Hugo. I'm SciAm's news editor. My understanding is that this finding confirms existence of *a new particle. But more research is needed to confirm if this new particle is definitely the long-sought Higgs or mass particle
John Strubhart
I would like to know why there is so much hype when the scientific process is far from complete for this discovery.
Robin Lloyd
HI John Strubhart -- the reason there is a lot of excitement is that it's like discovering an elephant. It was there all the time. You still don't know what the elephant does or exactly is, but damn, it's an elephant!
Robin Lloyd
Eric, sigma is just a stat that tells you how confident we are that an obtained figure from experiments is likely to have occurred by chance
Robin Lloyd
Sigma is the standard (average) deviation of a population or probability distribution in statistics
sciam_live
Hi all -- John Matson here. I'm an associate editor at Scientific American. Happy Higgs day!
Chase Eckert
Happy Higgs day!
Andy Semler
Higgs Day! USA Independence Day! I'm getting married in 6 hours! What else can we pack into a single day?
Robin Lloyd
Congrats, Andy! What a day to get married.
Chuck Cecil
Congratulations to Peter Higgs! I am sure he is having the day of his life now.
sciam_live
Chuck, did you see/hear him speak at the CERN seminar? Seemed very emotional
sciam_live
Eric, to your question about 5 sigma, it means it's a ~1-in-3.5 million chance the signal is really just background noise
Robin Lloyd
Sigma indicates the probability that the result is random/occurred by chance. A higher sigma means less chance of that.
Chuck Cecil
Is 5 Sigma the touchstone standard for research confirmation?
Robin Lloyd
Chuck -- in physics, yes, you need 5 sigmas for something to count as a valid discovery. Every field has its own custom with the probability it accepts for a random outcome cut-off. And I know at least in social sciences, there is more flexibility.
Treble Clef
Caution: Discovery = monumental. But doesn't fit the predictions precisely. Instead of pigeonholing, we should keep mind open 2 alt theories.
Andy Semler
What would the alternate theories be?
Jaime Montoya
Andy, supersymmetry is one of the alternative theories available.
Treble Clef
Quantum Vacuum Intertial Mass Hypothesis. http://calphysics.org partly funded by NASA HQ as well. Full list of their papers. Instead of Higgs Field, ZPF. Instead of Higgs, Quantum Fluctuations: http://calphysics.org/sci_articles.html
Hugo Alberto Gonzalez
All this excitement is so quiet, perhaps I am one of the few really excited or am I wrong? The magnitude of this event is so exciting.
EricROlson
So sigma just tells us with confidence that we've found a particle, but not that its THE Higgs Boson?
sciam_live
That's correct, Eric.
CurseOfBenitez
Regardless, this is terribly exciting.
Finn
What other properties would the Higgs particle have that could be testable?
Jaime Montoya
Eric, they were searching for a T. rex, instead they found a small alligator. It looks like the particle they found is NOT the Higgs boson at all.
Robin Lloyd
Why do you say that, Jaime? I thought the results showed the particle IS behaving like Higgs in some ways.
Jaime Montoya
Finn, the particle they found is too light (126Gev) to be the Higgs boson.
Jaime Montoya
Robin, few months ago, nobody was expecting to find out the Higgs at 126 Gev range. That's the point.
D Daro
As I understand it, lighter than expected but still within the range.
John Parsons
Actually, a Higgs in this mass range has been favored for a while.
Marc Weyl
Heuer said it is 'consistent' with a Higgs.
sciam_live
We're having difficulty reaching Prof. Tuts at the moment but hope he'll join us soon!
juanenlasala
Whatever the results are this should be the time to erase the 'God' part from this research.
sciam_live
Yes, the 'God particle' doesn't do anyone any favors, I don't think.
gikiian
Once, my physics teacher told us that if the existence of the Higgs boson is verified, Mr. Higgs will get a Nobel Prize.
sciam_live
@gikiian I think it's very likely Higgs will get a Nobel prize. But hard to say who else would share it.
saavoss
If this turns out to not be a Higgs boson, what are other possibilities for what it might be, and do these 'alternate' particles have a name?
Jaime Montoya
Saavoss, you got it, looks like they found a different particle. Not the Higgs. The question is of course, what they found.
Treble Clef
@saavoss Article by Cosmologist Marcus Chown on alternatives to Higgs http://calphysics.org/articles/chown2007.html
saavoss
treble clef: Thank you!
Cecil Bullard
How can the Higgs be so massive and decay just into two photons?
John Parsons
The Higgs decay to two photons is mediated by a loop containing top quarks, which are heavy.
John Parsons
The observed decays to two photons as well as to two Z bosons are expected for a Higgs, but the uncertainties are still large.
sciam_live
Thanks, John Parsons, for that good info.
John Parsons
So it is too early to reach a definitive conclusion; however all data so far are consistent with the predictions for the Higgs.
Kevin Bryant
Mostly over my head, but I've been glad that I stayed up very late that night in the summer of '69 to watch the goings-on on the moon.
Robin Lloyd
Hi Kevin, nice comparison.
Kevin Bryant
And, I remember the teacher making us watch the first transatlantic transmission on TV in the early sixties. :-)
dasanil
Why were there some comments yesterday that the Standard Model is excluded? What does that mean?
John Parsons
The Standard Model could have been excluded given the amount of data; however, it was not since an excess was observed.
Jaime Montoya
Mr. Parsons, why do they waste time looking in a higher Gev range instead of going directly to a lower range?
John Parsons
It is necessary to search the entire range; the excess is at lower mass but there is no reason a priori for that to be true, therefore the search was more general; however now the higher masses have been ruled out by the data. Both experiments now seen an excess near 125 GeV.
Robin Lloyd
I'm the news editor at Scientific American. Our scientist guest Mike Tuts is running a bit late, but I think we have another one participating now--physicist John Parsons of Columbia, who is answering questions. Thank you. At least, we suspect this :) 4 sigmas.
John Parsons
I guess I have been 'outed'; I am here at CERN. It has been an exciting day!
Robin Lloyd
Thanks, Dr. Parsons.
Finn
What will it take to verify that this excess is THE Higgs?
John Parsons
Finn, we need to first verify the various decay modes. So far we have seen a few, but there are more that are predicted that will require more data.
sciam_live
Prof. Parsons, your colleagues put on quite a viewing party at Columbia in the wee hours of the morn.
D Daro
Yes, thank you Dr. Parsons
John Parsons
Eventually we should also be able to test if the excess is due to a 'scalar' (i.e. spin 0) particle, a key prediction of the Standard Model. However that will take more data.
sciam_live
Prof. Parsons, do you worry about the (small) mass difference between what ATLAS and CMS found?
John Parsons
The CMS and ATLAS excesses are perfectly compatible given the current statistical errors.
Jaime Montoya
Dr Parsons, do you think a 126 Gev Particle is responsible for a electroweak symmetry breaking?
Michael Kammer
Dr. Parsons--At CERN, are there any guesses as to what the spin of the new boson is? I know they said they would probably have a good idea by the end of the year, but is there a gut feeling?
John Parsons
We know from the 2photon decay that it has even integer spin (0. 2. ,,,,). The Higgs would be 0, but we cannot yet distinguish. A 126 GeV Higgs is sensible in the Standard Model but also in other models (eg. supersymmetry), so we need more data to tell the difference. However, what has been discovered is likely related to electroweak symmetry breaking; whether exactly as in the Standard Model or not. The other decay modes help determine the spin, but there are other observables (eg. angular distributions) that we can use with more stats.
Kevin Bryant
Mere coincidence that 'Jim' Parsons plays Dr. Sheldon Cooper?? :-)
Robin Lloyd
BTW, folks, John Parsons is part of the ATLAS experiment group. ATLAS is one of the 2 key experiments confirming particle.
Finn
Do the experiments at CERN continue as before, just improving the precision of the result, or do the experiments morph into something new?
John Parsons
Finn, both. We continue to look for many other things (e.g. direct evidence of dark matter) while also scrutinizing the new particle. Even if this is the Higgs, it leaves other open questions (e.g. dark matter, dark energy, matter-antimatter asymmetry, ....) The Higgs boson is not the end of the history. It is just the start.
Jaime Montoya
Finn, we don't know what 70 percent dark energy and 24 percent dark matter is made of, for instance
Robin Lloyd
Dr. Parsons, do you think the evidence supports that the particle discovered IS the Higgs?
John Parsons
The evidence so far 'looks like' the Higgs, but the uncertainties are large and other theories (e.g. SUSY) would also look like this, so there is a lot of work to do.
Herb Cuthbertson
What does this mean for future discoveries? If the various decay modes in future tests discover and confirm, where do we go from here?
John Parsons
Herb, we cannot yet know. We first must investigate further if this new particle really behaves as predicted for the Standard Model Higgs in parallel with studying the new particle, we continue a very broad program looking for other new physics.
Chuck Cecil
Is there a theoretical framework which would identify a particle is a dark particle if one was found? I am confused. How can you look for direct evidence for dark matter when we have no idea what it is?
John Parsons
Chuck, we can try create dark matter particles in our collisions, in which case we can try learn what it is.
Jaime Montoya
Chuck, that's the point, as today, dark energy+dark matter is a total mystery.
Robin Lloyd
Hi all -- I'm SciAm's news editor. We are delighted that physicist John Parsons is fielding questions for chatters today. Dr. Parsons works on the ATLAS experiment at CERN, one of the experiments that discovered the new particle. We also have some other SciAm editors in the room -- Philip Yam, John Matson (at sciam_live), Eric Olson.
Andy Semler
Is the media reporting particularly accurate in representing this discovery?
sciam_live
Good Q, Andy -- I'm part of the media, but I've been overall impressed with quality of reporting.
John Parsons
Andy, the media is doing a pretty good job I think; of course, it is complicated to communicate a technical subject.
Marc Weyl
The misnomer 'God' particle has not helped the media.
John Parsons
The misnomer is not popular among physicists!
philipyam
Unfortunately, god particle really resonates with the public.
Michael Kammer
I'm a bigger fan of the original name, the god**** particle!
dasanil
Many stories about this say that the Higgs boson provides gravity. Does Higgs explain only inertial properties of mass, but also gravitational?
John Parsons
The higgs does NOT provide gravity; it gives mass to particles (eg. the electron). Gravity is not understood within the SM, one of its limitations. The mass is OK for the Standard Model and also lies within expected range for SUSY (supersymmetry).
rf
What property of the Higgs can be tested to determine if Supersymmetry theories are valid?
Jaime Montoya
rf, the problem with SUSY theory is there is not evidence of new particles above 126 gev range as predicted.
_le_idiot
The energy level 125 suggests FermiLab Tevatron has evidence. Was the LHC overbuilt?
John Parsons
Only the LHC can definitively discover the particle, and even more important study its properties to see if it is indeed the Standard Model Higgs.
D Daro
How many Higgs does SUSY predict?
John Parsons
If SUSY is valid, there are several more Higgs bosons (as well as many other new particles to discover). Minimal SUSY predicts 5 Higgs bosons with varying properties (including some that are electrically charged).
JamesC
I understand the cosmological constant is an integration constant, i.e really a constant and it could account for dark energy. Is that correct?
John Parsons
The cosmological constant could be dark energy, but that is far from certain at this point.
Jaime Montoya
D Daro, SUSY predicts that every single particle has a super mass equivalent.
Michael Kammer
Dr. Parsons, can you describe the atmosphere at CERN right now? I imagine it somewhat akin to being in the city of the superbowl winners?
John Parsons
Euphoria! (and an excitement to see what additional data will teach us).
saavoss
Oh man,... to be a CERN right now.....
philipyam
The whole Higgs discovery reminds me of the top quark discovery in the 90s: two rounds of announcements.
Robin Lloyd
Good historical perspective, Phil (Phil is SciAm's managing editor for online and knows a lot about physics. He was SciAm's physics editor for several years.).
John Parsons
Yes there are some similarities to top quark discovery in that 'hints' appeared early and then were confirmed with more data later.
rf
Articles hint that some properties of the discovered particle are NOT as the Standard Model predicted. What are these and what are the ramifications?
John Parsons
With the current data, everything is consistent with Standard Model Higgs; however, the uncertainties are large and so it is early days.
Jaime Montoya
rf, basically the particle they found (excellent job, btw!) is lighter than expected.
Chris Atteridge
Will the future full power of the LHC (7 TeV beams) be able to determine if this new particle is elementary or not?
John Parsons
Full LHC energy will indeed be important to study this new particle in detail (as well as providing a lot of other advantages).
D Daro
Dr Parsons, when will they run at full energy, 2014?
Jaime Montoya
Chris, at that level, the antropic principle and conscience definition will be key players
sciam_live
Thanks, folks, for an interesting exchange. I'm off to get some rest. Want to thank Prof. Parsons, our impromptu guest!
rf
Does the discovery of the Higgs bolster String Theory? Does String theory make any additional predictions about the Higgs?
John Parsons
String theory 'needs' SUSY and SUSY 'needs' a light Higgs, so the discovery is not bad for strings (but not very definitive). Full energy is scheduled for 2015, after a 2 yr shutdown after the end of this year.
philipyam
Full energy in 2015: quick, someone update the Wikipedia entry ; )
Robin Lloyd
OK, we were supposed to end this chat at 11:30 am, but let's keep chatting until 11:45? Then we will shut down the chat.
John Parsons
Sounds good.
saavoss
I am not an academic...sorry, but what is 'SUSY'?
Jaime Montoya
saavoss, SUSY = supersymmetric theory.
John Parsons
Supersymmetry is a theoretically proposed symmetry of the universe that would help explain some open questions (but is unproven).
philipyam
SUSY suggests that elementary particles have partner particles that are much heavier....in other words, every boson has a corresponding fermion.
Marc Weyl
What is needed to see if this is the Standard Model Higgs vs. SUSY Higgs?
John Parsons
To see if this is Standard Model or SUSY Higgs we need to measure its decays precisely. Also we need to continue to look for other particles (including other Higgs) predicted by SUSY.
_le_idiot
Symmetry hasn't been the rule, however.
D Daro
Dr. Parsons, at the current energies do you anticipate seeing possible other Higgs or is the sense that full power is needed?
John Parsons
It is not yet clear whether we have enough energy now; certainly going to full energy in ~2 years will be very important.
EricROlson
Prof. Parson, what would it take to say with absolute certainty that the Higgs exists? Is there a benchmark or just increasing probability?
John Parsons
There is no 'absolute certainty' in science; everything has a level of uncertainty (that we work hard to quantify).
Dan Arel
How long before Louisiana makes the Higgs boson illegal?
D Daro
lol at that one Dan.
dasanil
Does the Higgs mechanism involve three way intersection between Higgs boson, the force boson (e.g. photon) and the particle that has mass?
Jaime Montoya
Dr. Parsons, there is still a chance that Einstein's relative theory is wrong? Or definitely this is not an option?
John Parsons
We have no evidence relativity is incorrect.
John Parsons
SUSY predicts a partner of all the particles we know; since we have not observed them, they must be massive (if SUSY is correct).
Andy Semler
Thank you very much for hosting this chat, and to all the experts.
Marc Weyl
Yes, Thank You! And to SciAm too!
D Daro
Thank you, Dr. Parsons and SciAm.
John Parsons
Good evening from Geneva!
Robin Lloyd
Thanks so much to Dr. John Parsons of Columbia University and the ATLAS experiment, and all our guests.
Michael Kammer
And thanks to 50 years of scientists for working tirelessly towards this.
saavoss
Just want to say Thank you to Dr. Parsons. I've enjoyed this chat immensely and learned so much. I know that I still have much to learn.
Treble Clef
Thanks for you time Dr. Parsons
Jaime Montoya
Thank,s Dr Parson, SciAm and all you guys, very exciting day!
philipyam
Thanks to Dr. Parsons for a great job!
See what we're tweeting about
15 Comments
Add CommentCERN - Geneva, 4 July 2012.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this- Both experiments observe a new particle in the mass region around 125-126 GeV
- “We observe clear signs of a new particle, at the level of 5 sigma” Gianotti “but a little more time is needed to prepare these results for publication.”
Of course
- "The results are preliminary"
No kiddin'?
- "This is indeed a new particle. We know it must be a boson and it’s the heaviest boson ever found,” (Incandela) “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."
But IS IT THE HIGGS?
- “It’s hard not to get excited by these results,” said CERN Research Director Sergio Bertolucci. “ We stated last year that in 2012 we would either find a new Higgs-like particle or exclude the existence of the Standard Model Higgs. With all the necessary caution, it looks to me that we are at a branching point..”
- The results presented today are labelled preliminary... A more complete picture of today’s observations will emerge later this year after the LHC provides the experiments with more data.
- The next step will be to determine the precise nature of the particle and its significance for our understanding of the universe. Are its properties as expected for the long-sought Higgs boson, the final missing ingredient in the Standard Model of particle physics? Or is it something more exotic?
Bull.
- “The discovery of a particle consistent with the Higgs boson opens the way to more detailed studies, requiring larger statistics..."
And, erm, more money? Ah...
- Positive identification of the new particle’s characteristics will take considerable time and data.
Sure.
- But whatever form the Higgs particle takes, our knowledge of the fundamental structure of matter is about to take a major step forward.
Is that so? Wasn't that always so?
You still haven't found the damn thing, haven't you? You found something that LOOKS like it. But then, if I go South I am bound to find sunshine. So if I look for a massive boson I will find something along my research lines that will be more or less closely related to what I am looking for. It might not be the exact sunshine I expected but it will be sunshine. And then I will stand in front of the press and pretend that this sunshine is more or less the sunshine I predicted when I started on my road South.
But I bow to the new approach in press announcements and emperor's clothes. Although... haven't they maybe pushed it a bit? Watched too much X-Factor maybe?
Forget it.
forgot:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this(- Bertolucci: “ We stated last year that in 2012 we would either find a new Higgs-like particle or exclude the existence of the Standard Model Higgs. With all the necessary caution, it looks to me that we are at a branching point..”)
Indeed. Since we will still not find the Higgs in 2012 we will finally branch off from that ugly Standard Model and admit that we have to make a quantum leap in physics imagination or be forever lost in our fancy equations and theoretical considerations that fed our illusions of grandeur and our comfortable lifestyles until this year.
Hi all, I am interested in learning according to the relationship of the Higgs particle with the string theory, if someone has conclusive information about whether any part of this theory is clear with this discovery, and any related information on physicists to study the relationship of these two theories, thanks.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisre the mails I received:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhy is CERN so "excited" about this "highly probable" discovery which "might be" the Higgs?
Because they need 5 billion Euros (initial budget but you know how these budgets quadruple when physicists are involved) for a Linear Collider which they want to start building at the end of this year.
No sensational discovery, no billions of Euro.
Get it?
And if Hawking shelled out his 100 bucks, well, nobody forced him, there was really no need. If this was really the Higgs it would have to be far more massive than the skinny numbers they've been throwing around since this morning. But maybe he just got tired in his own intellectual dead-end.
No, I don't know the answer either but I know at least one approach that I find more intelligent than this massive stageplay.
Eppur si muove
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRegardless Of Whatever Whoever Say Higgs Particle YOK
Regardless Of Whatever Is Said By Whoever Says It -
Higgs Particle YOK.
S Hawking is simply wrong. Obviously wrong.
Everyone who accepts the story of the Higgs particle is simply wrong.
Plain commonsense. Singularity and the Big Bang MUST have happened with the smallest base universe particles, the gravitons, that MUST be both energy and mass, even if they are inert mass just one smallest fraction of a second. All mass formats evolve from gravitons, convert into energy i.e. extricate from gravitons clusters into mass formats in motion, energy, and end up finally as mass again in a repeat singularity. Universe expansion and re-contraction proceed simultaneously..
Dov Henis (comments from 22nd century)
http://universe-life.com/
Eppur si muove
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRegardless Of Whatever Whoever Say Higgs Particle YOK
Regardless Of Whatever Is Said By Whoever Says It -
Higgs Particle YOK.
S Hawking is simply wrong. Obviously wrong.
Everyone who accepts the story of the Higgs particle is simply wrong.
Plain commonsense. Singularity and the Big Bang MUST have happened with the smallest base universe particles, the gravitons, that MUST be both energy and mass, even if they are inert mass just one smallest fraction of a second. All mass formats evolve from gravitons, convert into energy i.e. extricate from gravitons clusters into mass formats in motion, energy, and end up finally as mass again in a repeat singularity. Universe expansion and re-contraction proceed simultaneously..
Dov Henis (comments from 22nd century)
http://universe-life.com/
Particles are mandatory for carrying force and energy is a concept that's hard to agree with. There are phenomena like 'advance waves" ( or pilot waves) that carry information and, there is the phenomena of "quantum entanglement" whereby "action at a distance" ( without even having to have a field in between ) is acceptable .particle physicist's insistence that action-at-a-distance is unacceptable has lead to the search for "gravitons"( carriers of gravity ) another elusive particle; although physicists agree that gravity is nothing but curvature in space-time fabric .Higgs field is also created by ripples in space-time fabric. Higgs bosons might even be the discontinuities of an otherwise continuous space-time . When there are no discontinuities,space is smooth and movement through space-time could be resistance-less and [articles or waves or whatever can fly through at luminal or super-luminal speeds. Ripples slow down movement imparting the impression of resistance to motion or inertia or mass.Electromagnetic waves lie in the border-line between entities or waves that are slowed down by ripples in space-time ( becoming "matter" endowed with the quality of mass ) and waves that cannot be slowed down ( light waves ) and more energetic waves that travel at super luminal speeds . Why should a special type of " particle" need be postulated at all to give mass to matter is not understood when "ripples in space-time fabric" could do the job equally well.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn the the eyes of particle physicists everything in the universe including space-time is digital,grainy,not continuous and,made up of discrete particles only.Its like if you look through yellow glasses the whole universe would look yellow.In quantum field there are no'objective' observation possible;all observations are subjective means observer-dependent so much so that its a truism in quantum physics that an"observer"could create the phenomena,being observed by a process of constant,continuous and consistent observation,because the observer is as much part of an observation.Most of the subatomic particles are 'observed' after its postulated and scientists started "looking"for it,before they start'seeing'them materialize in due course.In this case too at 5 zigma distance from the norm so many other'particles'than particles consistent with Higgs bosons also were "observed"which needs to be sorted out.Another question that is to be resolved is,if Higgs Boson is the particle that gives mass to ordinary matter what gives Higgs boson its mass or inertial qualities ?( its almost 140 times heavier than a proton). Again, if Higgs bosom is the consequence of nipples (i mean ripples)in space-time what is the true qualitative nature of ripples(energy Vibrations,or discontinuities ) in the space-time fabric and how did they come about to create Higgs boson,in an otherwise smooth and continuous non-grainy space time ?What caused space-time perturbations? Going one step further,we are obliged to seek answer to the question whether there is need for a "cause" at all for everything to happen ?Cant events in cosmos happen spontaneously without any cause or reason at all ? Quantum science does not mandate the need of causes for an occurrence.Quantum field transcend causative universe.There is no way we can pin down an"effect"to a particular"cause",like in economics or love. The same effect could be produced from even opposing causes or, same causes could produce even opposing effects.There are mine-fields of "uncertainties","chaos",'indeterminates", "randomness,","infinities","singularities" and "spontaneity" existing between causes and effects at quantum levels that,Newtonian one-to-one "cause-effect" relationship breaks down completely.Hence how is it that we can say that Higgs bosom is the CAUSE/CATALYST for matter acquiring mass,as these are all quantum field events? After offering inertia( mass) to matter-particles do the mass(resistance to motion)remain and continue to operate in the Higgs field?Could Higgs boson be gravitons itself?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAfter all, "Higg's particle is basically a mathematical abstract entity trying hard to materialize as a physical phenomena.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe possibility that it might have materialized cannot therefore be entirely ruled out! BECAUSE of the quantum- world- truism that one can create one's observations ( phenomena) by one's constant,continuous and consistent intention of observing it "
Physicists are trying to get some mileage for spending such a huge heavy funding, even inviting prof Higgs who is still alive to come over , verify and endorse their findings !
I take it with a pinch of salt only ,for now ,at least !
But that does not count,I know.
We will hear a lot more on this from now on!
And , make physics and science more interesting for everybody .
and, that counts !
Science do not offer answers ( thats the job of religion) ,but every answer leads to more questions.
Thats the role of science, which makes it enchanting , attractive,,enticing, bewitching,tantalizing,un-cloying, ever-green,challenging and worthy of pursuit !
And, in this case, without a doubt,through these controversial observational findings science would fulfill its role to the maximum possible extent !
Very promising indeed !
what I start to really hate, and I mean it, about SciAm is their increasing customer UNfriendliness:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this- their little videos cannot be downloaded for later viewing; as if the content of their videos was their intellectual property whereas in fact they are always compilations of other people's intellectual efforts; no, SciAm, you did NOT invent the Higgs theory and if you present it, it does NOT mean that it becomes your theory; so the least I'd expect in terms of customer friendliness is letting customer download those little vids; but no, they prefer to make it impossible;
- if you like a particular sentence in a comment and want to copy it for later pondering, you can't; mark a sentence in a comment here and try to copy it; won't work.
Despicable, utterly despicable.
Fact is, comments too attract readers. So treating readers' contributions as if it was pure property of SciAm is a rip-off.
If SciAm don't come to their senses, I draw consequences.
wow, SciAm fixed the second problem very quickly - respect
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisnow for some horrible news:
http://musiclub.web.cern.ch/MusiClub/bands/cernettes/index.html
"After 22 years on CERN's stages, Les Horribles Cernettes will have a final megashow at the CERN Hardronic Festival, on Sat. July 21st., to say goodbye to their fans, close and farway. The "CERN Sweethearts" will have an exceptional performance, covering all of their repertoire based on antimatter, protons, colliders and... Higgs bosons!
In their usual sixties look and fell, the girls will appear for a last time live at CERN's Prevessin site, home to the LHC, and on a global webcast at the following address: http://livestage.mypressonline.com/Hardronic.
Their concert starts at 10pm CET (9pm GMT, 3pm EDT, 1pm PDT).
BE THERE!"
If you made it to the Higgs chat you don't have any excuse to miss this truly massive act's last public appearance.
ENAJENACIÓN Y DELIRIO. Citamos:"Ginebra.El Centro Europeo de Investigación Nuclear (CERN) confirmó hoy la existencia de la partícula subatómica que podría ser el llamado Bosón de Higgs o "Partícula de Dios",buscada por mucho tiempo y clave para explicar el origen del universo." Más una vez la seudociencia anuncia sus "fantasticas descubiertas" al intentar eludir y manipular la opinión de millones de seres humanos con una perversa información científica. Europa y EEUU han controlado durante décadas los datos por ellos considerados "avances de la Ciencia". El Comité Nobel lo certifica.Esperemos que la "Partícula de Dios" de los sabios no sea causa de Guerras y Armas Nucleares de destrucción y exterminio masivo. Hiroshimas.Holocaustos. Auschwitz. Goebels y Mengele.Que el Dios los Pobres y Humildes que les ha ofrecido su Fe y la Esperanza permanezca Indivisible y Único como Causa de las Causas. Ellos. Asi me lo afirmaron: Mi Doctor,"Dios es Grande y está en Todas las Partes". Vox Populi Vox Dei. Francisco de Alencar.Antropólogo. Ex Profesor Visitante. Karolinska Institutet-Stockholms Universitet (1973-1995)Comentario Publicado La Nación, Chile; La Jornada, México; The Telegraph, UK; The Washingron Post; USA; The NY Times, USA; Francisco Alencar Facebook. 2012-07-04.Juventud Rebelde 2012-07-11
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisyou are about as science savvy as Opus Dei - and as illuminated (in fact, 'iluminado' would describe it even better EMHO)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this6 SIGMA is a methodology of quality control in production lines. Tolerences might be 0.1 of measured value: 1 sigma; to 0.000001 of measured value. For example you produce a shaft and the drawing says 10 mm diameter; if the production of shafts are 6 sdigma, then your measurements should be around 10.000001 mm for the measured diameter,. If I do not make a mistake. from one company advertizing on 6 Sigma in the internet: Lean-6Sigma is a powerful amalgamation of two world-leading business improvement methodologies. These are Lean and 6 Sigma (also known as Six Sigma). Between them these methodologies can help you upgrade every aspect of your company’s performance, from improving customer relationships and product design, to reducing defects and internal costs or improving on-time delivery or health and safety. Parts of this web-site explain the terms to do with Lean-6Sigma and how they can be applied to help you.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI expect the editors to be as automatically notified of new comments as I am, if only by ticking the email box below the comments box. And then immediately remove commercial messages. Like those three identical idiotic "higgs boson" comments here by a spambase builder. Same idiot who added three identical comments about a very different product to another Higgs article.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisKeep your garden tidy or it will turn into dung.