NERD ALERT: Higgs-Boson Has Been Found?!???

Early last week, exciting news was released that scientists are both Fermilab and CERN were getting closer and closer to pinning down the location of the so-called "god particle," otherwise known as Higgs Boson. Then, this past Wednesday as America celebrate the 4th of July, nerds around the world had their own fireworks as they announced that Higgs Boson had indeed been found. With a 5 sigma signal, meaning that there is less than a one in a million chance that the findings are a fluke, scientists the world over could deem the particle found. Declared the "god particle" because of its relation to the "Big Bang," or the moment of the creation of our universe, this particle has been deemed crucial by physicists because they hope it can answer the previously unanswerable about the actual existence of dark matter, the possibility of additional dimensions or universes, and hopefully to finally confirm the unified field theory that finally brings beautiful symmetry between Einstein's theory of gravity and quantum physics involving subatomic particles. According to Peter Higgs, half of the namesake of the discovered particle:

"I had no expectation that I would still be alive when it happened," he said of the speed with which they found evidence.

"For physics, in one way, it is the end of an era in that it completes the Standard Model," he said of the basic theory physicists currently use to describe what they understand so far of a cosmos built from 12 fundamental particles and four forces.

Although this probably swept beneath the general public's rug of consciousness, it's kind of a big eff'n deal. It is WAY above my pay grade to truly describe what the Higgs Boson does (here is a good, and fairly simply explained, primer from the Atlantic) and why it is important, but here is the basic gist:

Scientists struggling to explain the theory have likened Higgs particles to a throng of paparazzi photographers; the greater the "celebrity" of a passing particle, the more the Higgs bosons get in its way and slow it down, imparting it mass; but a particle such as a photon of light is of no interest to the paparazzi and passes through easily - a photon has no mass.

So, essentially and more complexly, the exchanges between various fields and bosons, a general class of subatomic particle of which Higgs is a type, is called the Higgs mechanism, which is still not fully understood, and it is through these exchanges that particles gain mass (Thanks Atlantic Monthly!).


Phew. You still with me? Because at this point I'm just continuing to write to help myself fully understand. But that's all folks for now. Unless you want to really step up your nerd game and read the philosophic interpretation of our inability to readily grasp the workings of Higgs Boson. Because that's right here. You nerd...


UPDATE: In a closer reading of the material released, it is not entirely a settled matter that it is exactly the Higgs Boson that has been found (although many believe it is so). According to Reuters:

What scientists do not yet know from the latest findings is whether the particle they have discovered is the Higgs boson as exactly described by the Standard Model. It could be a variant of the Higgs idea or an entirely new subatomic particle that could force a rethink on the fundamental structure of matter.  

The last two possibilities are, in scientific terms, even more exciting. 

Sooo, definitely very exciting nonetheless. 


IMAGE: ibnlive.in.com

NERD ALERT- Like a Rolling CERN

I'm taking artistic license on the title, so back up off me. CERN, a.k.a. the European Center for Nuclear Research, had its big reveal today on whether the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) had determined the existence, or non-existence, of the Higgs boson. And they revealed (drum roll please)... (dramatic pause to enhance excitement)... (pause/drumroll has gone on too long and now people are annoyed)... that they'd only found hints of the particle and would need another year of data to make any real determination! WOOO! The Higgs boson particle, and thus the excitement about it, is a little bit hard to explain, which is attempted with more success here, but it is essentially the smallest building block of the Higgs field which, according to the Standard Model, gives particles mass. This is disappointing for those hoping to know, either way, but there is, seemingly, a silver lining:

"Given the outstanding performance of the L.H.C. this year, we will not need to wait long for enough data and can look forward to resolving this puzzle in 2012.”

Over the last 20 years, suspicious bumps that might have been the Higgs have come and gone, and scientists cautioned that the same thing could happen again, but the fact that two rival teams using two different mammoth particle detectors had recorded similar results was considered to be good news. Physicists expect to have enough data to make the final call by the summer.

For those, like me, who geek out over this stuff, it only means that we've been thrown a cliff hanger that will bring us back in this summer. Kind of like the "Game of Thrones." That's good enough for me (at least CERN didn't pull a "The Killing"... people will probably be interested enough to come back for Higgs boson in the summer). 

Getcha Nerd on with PBS' New Nova Series

I caught pieces of a new series on PBS called the "Fabric of the Cosmos" last night and found it incredibly interesting. Though I am in no way literate in physics or math, I find it all very interesting and will wrap my head around the little that I can when it comes to string theory, quantum mechanics, quarks, higgs-boson, black holes and anti-matter. Dr. Greene is very engaging and the material is presented in a (somewhat) accessible light. I would recommend the series, which stretches over 4 weeks starting yesterday, for anyone interested in this material.

Oh, no one else? It's just me? Ok, groovy... I'm just going to sit in this corner with my Greene and Kaku books now. Thanks.