Higgs Boson, God Particle, rumored to have been found.

[Josh]

Source

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.

[housetier]

cool picture!

But I doubt they have found something other than a "statistical anomaly". However, I hope they eventually find what they are looking for, or even more. Science is exciting!

[Josh]

I don't care what they do, as long as it is in the name of science!

Anyways...Look at me: still talking when there's science to do! </portal reference>

[housetier]

There is a 80% chance of science!

[40hz]

I sometimes wonder if the Higgs Boson particle would have sparked one half the arguments (or one one-hundredth the political/emotional/religious commentary and debate) if some twit in the press didn't dub it the "God Particle" first...

[rgdot]

Religion must stay 500 yards away from science at all times

Physics will inch forward in grand unification, god particle, dark matter, etc. I just hope not to hear all the why spend so much on building LHC stuff.

[Renegade]

Well, I'm not bowing down to or worshiping anything called "boson".

It would be wonderful if more people would observe Ludwig Wittgenstein's 7th proposition from the Tractatus-Logico Philosophicus^w when talking about religion and science:

"Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent." („Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen.“)

It will be interesting to see if the particle is confirmed.

When I think of GUT, and all the things we don't know, I'm often sad that I'm going to die, never knowing it all.

[IainB]

@Renegade:

Well, I'm not bowing down to or worshiping anything called "boson".

But do you bow down to anything else - Mammon, perhaps?          

[f0dder]

@Renegade:

Well, I'm not bowing down to or worshiping anything called "boson".

But do you bow down to anything else - Mammon, perhaps?           

-IainB (April 25, 2011, 01:16 AM)

God money, I'll do anything for you - God money, just tell me what you want me to.

[Renegade]

@Renegade:

Well, I'm not bowing down to or worshiping anything called "boson".

But do you bow down to anything else - Mammon, perhaps?          

-IainB (April 25, 2011, 01:16 AM)

Nah... (Money is good, but it's just a tool.)

Though you are reminding me of this:

It's just silly, but fun never-the-less. (The Dayglo Abortions^w are one of the most fun, nutty bands ever. Total unmitigated insanity and 100% fun.)

[IainB]

Hmm, the Dayglo Abortions music is, erm, interesting...and I like the family pic of President Ronald and Nancy Reagan poised over their dinner plate (NOT).
Talking of presidents, didn't President Obama bow down to a Saudi king a while back? I wonder, would he have been bowing to Mammon or Allah by so doing?     

[IainB]

Well, on the 118th anniversary of Satyendra Nath Bose's birth (January 1st, 1894), we got this interesting post, Satyendra Bose: 118th birthday, which discusses Bose's mistake that led to - Bosons!
I reckon that the author of the post, Luboš Motl, is a bit of a wag, as he says:

Of course, that would be the case assuming that we subtract Satyendra's father who was an engineer in the East Indian Railway Company, later known as the IPCC.

Very droll.

[IainB]

Worth watching/listening to this YouTube clip:
The talk is the 4th Lecture in the The 29th Jerusalem Winter School in Theoretical Physics - entitled Implications of a 125 GeV Higgs - by the Iranian/American physicist Nima Arkani Hamed (IAS Princeton).
It was uploaded by HebrewUniversity on 10 Jan 2012.
Nice turn of phrase:

"How hard it is to discover the truth."

I hope nobody blows him up.