Scientists Abuzz Over Controversial Rumor that God Particle Has Been Detected

LiveScience.com ^ | 4/22/11 | Mike Wall

[NormsRevenge]

A rumor is floating around the physics community that the world's largest atom smasher may have detected a long-sought subatomic particle called the Higgs boson, also known as the "God particle."

The controversial rumor is based on what appears to be a leaked internal note from physicists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a 17-mile-long particle accelerator near Geneva, Switzerland. It's not entirely clear at this point if the memo is authentic, or what the data it refers to might mean — but the note already has researchers talking.

The buzz started when an anonymous commenter recently posted an abstract of the note on Columbia University mathematician Peter Woit's blog, Not Even Wrong.

Some physicists say the note may be a hoax, while others believe the "detection" is likely a statistical anomaly that will disappear upon further study. But the find would be a huge particle-physics breakthrough, if it holds up.

"If it were to be real, it would be really exciting," said physicist Sheldon Stone of Syracuse University.

[NormsRevenge]

This track is an example of simulated data modelled for the CMS detector on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. Here a Higgs boson is produced and then decays into two jets of hadrons and two electrons. The lines represent the possible paths of particles produced by the proton-proton collision in the detector while the energy these particles deposit is shown in blue. CREDIT: CERN

[Myrddin]

So what if it is real? What can you do with that knowledge? If you assume it is real, what will you do differently that matters? Does it justify the mountains of money spent building equipment to answer the question?

[Cyber Ninja]

Nothing to add.

Just wanted to post.

[oyez]

Well, son of a gun.

[bruinbirdman]

God particle is not scheduled to make its appearance until May 21:

Fundamentalist-evangelical Harold Camping predicts rapture of 200 million on May 21, 2011

yitbos

[SJSAMPLE]

We're a thousand years away from fusion, IMHO.

But, if we don't do the research, we're 1001 years away, and counting.

At some point, we have to think past our own lifetimes.

[bigbob]

I dunno, I figured it’d show up by Sunday morning...

[WorldviewDad]

Let’s see...we are spending billions of dollars and thousands of man hours of highly educated people to try and find this little particle to show that all that we see could have happened be chance (dumb luck)...I fail to see the logic.

Even if it is found we then have to answer the next question...WHY.

[Gene Eric]

>> “If it were to be real, it would be really exciting,” said physicist Sheldon Stone of Syracuse University.

Now, how exactly would Stone know that he’d be excited without evidence of the particle’s existence? Hmm....

[Tolsti2]

This would be one of the primary physics discoveries of the last 30 years or so.

The stupid name of it sucks, but the Higgs Boson is a really amazing idea. It brings the entire universe closer to making all creation down to a few lines of formulas.

IMO, it might be as simple as -1=+1=0. And we’re in one of those sides which seems as real as anything, but in effect is nothing.

[Red Steel]

It is believe the “God Particle” is the missing link that would fill in the blanks for theoretical physics.

[Tolsti2]

I wish that name would stop. It’s not that much more important than the Z and W bosons in the scheme of things, I think.

It’s a major thing though. Can we, as humans, understand the basic building blocks of reality and space/time?

[garjog]

I am doing some reading on all of this. Seems like such a discovery could help unify relativity (big picture) and quantum theory (small picture).

The god particle somehow would explain how subatomic particles (virtual particles because they seem more like ideas than things) are connected or something.

This research is significant because they might lead to technology like instantaneous faster than light communication, the possibility of sending messages backward in time, how complex information in DNA and RNA first come into being, taping energy from empty space or perhaps shaping physical reality through consciousness.

[HangnJudge]

Ahh...
But to get an unGodly number of particles
there is nothing like the
Spallation Neutron Source

But they will all be neutral...

[D-fendr]

Sounds positively fractal.

:)

[Republic_of_Secession.]

The ironic thing is that the God particle is inherent in the nature of the universe if you follow.

[OldDeckHand]

Do you think this discovery will make my VCR stop blinking 12:00?

It's really starting to get annoying.

[abigailsmybaby]

Like, they could actually beam us up?

[Tolsti2]

Indeed. heh.

Eventually these discoveries could lead to anti-gravity and far reaching energy demands. A huge interuption in this stuff was the cancelation of the SSC by the clinton admin, one of the worst mistakes in history was to push the IIS instead of the SSC.

Both were worthy and it’s hard to say which is really better, but I’d have opted for the SSC.