First Hint of the Higgs Boson Particle!

Searched and didnt find a thread for this news.

Found some really interesting information regarding the Large Hadron Collider and The God Particle.

Official Source

"We indeed may have observed the first evidence of the Higgs particle, but it is still too early for a definitive statement," says Professor Dr. Volker Büscher from the Institute of Physics at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany. "And if this evidence turns out to be correct, the data now being analyzed will for the first time provide information about the mass of the Higgs boson," adds Professor Dr. Stefan Tapprogge.

Goes on to say:

"At this point in time, we can make two statements," Büscher says. "First, if the Higgs boson actually has the characteristics it is assumed to have, then its mass must be between 115 and 131 gigaelectron volts – a much smaller window than just a year ago. Second, we have found a very intriguing excess of events, which could be the first direct evidence of a Higgs boson with a mass around 125 GeV." The experiments at CERN will continue next year. If the evidence is confirmed, the Higgs boson would be about 125 times as heavy as a proton.

I am really interested to see what the rest of 2012 brings us in the research of this very important time for science.

Certainly exciting, and certainly in the news and on TV a lot lately. The excitement over the GeV window the Higgs may be hiding in is great but is that all that first report is talking about? It is not "found" yet officially? Last night I was wondering, what are the implications of finding it, what are the implications of not finding it... And if it wasn't found would we still be told it was?

i think if it existed they would have found it on their first try.

i suppose they can just make it up and say they found it, we wouldnt know any better, i dont exactly have my own particle accelerator lying around to check

True, but Fermilab does...
They have been getting some results from the smaller accellerators too....
If Cern says they found it, it will have to complete and dovetail quantum equations.......
Further scientific principals of basic nature may follow, and if not, well then you may be right....
Its a helluva lot of money to invest in a busted experiment apparatus.....!

I would like to know exactly what the Higgs Boson is, and what's it is supposed to do.

I know the theory a little bit, but just vaguely. Refresh me?

reply to post by Starchild23


I'll try to help you.

What we think of empty space is wrong, space is actually full of things, there no real "empty space". Think of a magnet for a second. Hold it above a paper clip and some how, without touching it physically, the paper clip jumps up to meet the magnet because the magnetic field attracts it, the field emanating from the magnet but extending beyond it's physical form.

Now, what we are searching for "the higgs" is a particle which makes up the "higgs field" a theoretical field, similar to a magnetic field, that occupies space.

This field is theorized to be what creates "mass" in other particles.

One of the most compelling theories is lightly explained like this:

When you push an object through water, the water offers resistance. So does the higgs field, what we perceive as 'mass' is merely the resistance offered as a particle travels through the higgs field. And there can be more than 1 higgs field, and they can also be occupying multiple dimensions.

Gravity is incredibly weak. To explain this, we use extra dimensions, curled up at every point in space time, so small we can't see them. The math works, if you add enough of these extra dimensions, gravity works as it should, but through ALL dimensions, spreading it's power making it appear weak to use.

If we find the higgs boson, we've proven the theory correct, can explain why objects have mass, and as an added bonus, have a reliable quantum theory of gravity.

If we don't find it, or better yet, we find something entirely different and unexpected, the field of theoretical physics will grow and make more discoveries. If we find it, the theory is complete, and there isn't that much more left to learn until our technology can look at the tiny nature of the particles we are smashing together.

Look close enough and you might find a string. Finding the Higgs is a huge leap, but the real next step is developing technology to investigate string theory.

W00t!

This is cool! Thank you!

S & F

reply to post by phishyblankwaters


Thanks!

I personally am unsure about the string theory, myself. Einstein was a genius, undoubtedly, but he has been proved wrong before...

It's like saying the fabric of the universe consists of FIBERS.

nice find.

BUT

i wish people would stop calling it the 'God Particle' its called the Higgs Boson!

AND

here's a simpler explanation of the Higgs (no offence intended to phishyblankwaters)

What exactly is the Higgs field?
A theoretical, invisible energy field that stretches throughout the universe. It clings to fundamental particles wherever they are, dragging on them and making them heavy. Some particles find the field more "sticky" than others. Particles of light – photons – are oblivious to it. Other particles have to wade through it like an elephant in tar. So, in theory, particles can weigh nothing, but as soon as the field switched on shortly after the big bang, they got their mass.

Originally posted by just1cornell0
nice find.

BUT

i wish people would stop calling it the 'God Particle' its called the Higgs Boson!

AND

here's a simpler explanation of the Higgs (no offence intended to phishyblankwaters)

What exactly is the Higgs field?
A theoretical, invisible energy field that stretches throughout the universe. It clings to fundamental particles wherever they are, dragging on them and making them heavy. Some particles find the field more "sticky" than others. Particles of light – photons – are oblivious to it. Other particles have to wade through it like an elephant in tar. So, in theory, particles can weigh nothing, but as soon as the field switched on shortly after the big bang, they got their mass.

edit on 16-1-2012 by just1cornell0 because: (no reason given)

edit on 16-1-2012 by just1cornell0 because: (no reason given)

The question for that would be...what switched the "field" on? And can it be switched back off? And how does it give particles mass?

This should be interesting...

reply to post by Starchild23

I personally am unsure about the string theory, myself. Einstein was a genius, undoubtedly, but he has been proved wrong before... It's like saying the fabric of the universe consists of FIBERS.

Einstein ignored quantum theory, and had no part in string theory at all.....

String theory states that what we perceive as particles, tiny dots, are infact vibrating strings, the shape and vibration determine the type of "particle" it appears to be. The only reason we see them as tiny dots, is we lack the magnification to see them. Anything from a far enough distance appears as a round dot.

And it gets better. String theory, well, most of them, also postulate the existence of extra dimensions, all currled up and invisible at every point in space time. The universe isn't made of strings, everything within it that we see as particles, are really tiny strings too small to see yet

The question for that would be...what switched the "field" on? And can it be switched back off? And how does it give particles mass?

We aren't even sure if the higgs field exists, let alone why it's there, how many there are, etc. All we know is the math works, and so far quantum theory has passed, with startling accuracy, every single test it's taken.

If the higgs field exists, and we can detect it via it's particle the Higgs Boson, we have a full and complete quantum theory of gravity, and as such, would have finally reached Einsteins goal of a grand unified theory of everything, from the very large to the very small.

It gives particles "mass" by offering resistance to their motion, much like a ball pushed through water. Mass, much like time, is an illusion, there is no mass, only resistance offered to the particle by the higgs field.

I wonder about the practical application of this knowledge.
By understanding how to manipulate mass, would it not open up the possibility of anti-gravity and faster than light travel ?

reply to post by phishyblankwaters

It gives particles "mass" by offering resistance to their motion, much like a ball pushed through water. Mass, much like time, is an illusion, there is no mass, only resistance offered to the particle by the higgs field.

By "offering resistance to their motion", do you mean suppressing or limiting their vibration?

Very interesting to say honestly. What I particularly appreciated was the possibility to further investigate the string theory if the Higgs Boson is proven real with all the tests needed to be made.

The Boson investigation is needed but the results of a proven string theory would completely change the way we view ourselves inside 3d, and all proven by sciences for pure skeptics. I look forward to it and wishing goo luck to all of our scientists making great work for the understanding of our universe.




Thruthseek3r

Originally posted by just1cornell0


i wish people would stop calling it the 'God Particle' its called the Higgs Boson!

Leon Lederman the Nobel-prize winning physicist, is the man credited with coining the term " God Particle" , however, Lederman actually called it the "God-Damn Particle" in reference to its elusiveness and not some divine reference.

It was his editor that apparently refused to use the term .... and we got the virulent meme "God Particle" instead.

link

reply to post by jazzguy


That's because you have a complete lack of understanding how science works. Nearly every breakthrough was the result of a thousand failures.

Originally posted by phishyblankwaters
Now, what we are searching for "the higgs" is a particle which makes up the "higgs field" a theoretical field, similar to a magnetic field, that occupies space.

I have heard several, contradicting, explanations of this, from what seemed to be reliable sources. But I do think that this explanation is not correct. As far as I know the higgs boson does not make up the higgs field. If that was the case, we would not need a particle accelerator in order to crease a higgs boson, as they would be all around us already. The explanation I heard that made most sense is that every particle has an associated field, and vica versa. This means that if the higgs field exists, the higgs boson must also exist. And by showing that the higgs boson exists, it is proven that the higgs field exists.

When you push an object through water, the water offers resistance. So does the higgs field, what we perceive as 'mass' is merely the resistance offered as a particle travels through the higgs field. And there can be more than 1 higgs field, and they can also be occupying multiple dimensions.

I know that this is an imperfect analogy, but one thing that bothers me is the term "resistance". That would imply that something is slowed down, and energy is converted. But once a mass is moving, it will move on forever, until it hits another mass, or is affected by gravity. For me it is hard to grasp how a field could do that, as there must be a constant interaction with the field. But maybe the higgs field should be considered as a field unlike any we know of.