Higgs boson has been found. Scientists 99.999% sure

[Tom]

The historic announcement came in a progress report from the Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator.

Professor John Womersley, chief executive of the Science and technology Facilities Council, told reporters at a briefing in London: "They have discovered a particle consistent with the Higgs boson.

"Discovery is the important word. That is confirmed. It's a momentous day for science."

Scientists say it is a 5 sigma result which means they are 99.999% sure they have found a new particle.

Finding the Higgs plugs a gaping hole in the Standard Model, the theory that describes all the particles, forces and interactions that make up the universe.

If the particle was shown not to exist, it would have meant tearing up the Standard Model and going back to the drawing board.

The Cern laboratory appeared to have let slip its biggest breakthrough in a generation after appearing to announce the discovery of a new particle in an online video overnight.

In the short film accidentally published by the lab yesterday spokesman Joe Incandela is seen describing how physicists at the Large Hadron Collider had "observed a new particle".

Today scientists gathered in Geneva to announce the findings. Among the audience was Peter Higgs, the Edinburgh professor who first proposed the existence of the mysterious particle almost 50 years ago.

Rumours had been rife that scientists hunting the Higgs were to announce today's finding but the video appeared to confirm the finding of a particle matching its description hours before it was confirmed.

Although their results are said to be strong enough to claim an official discovery, the scientists will avoid doing so because they remain unsure whether the particle they have found is indeed the Higgs.

Cern spokesman James Gillies said the video was one of several filmed to cover every eventuality and did not directly relate to today's announcement.

The Internet has been rife with rumours of a discovery ever since CERN, the European nuclear research facility, announced it would hold a press conference today with the leaders of its two gigantic experiments, ATLAS and CMS.

Sources have told the Telegraph that ATLAS will today announce a 5-sigma signal and CMS will announce a 4.9-sigma signal of a new particle with a mass of 126.5 GigaelectronVolts (GeV) and 125.2 GeV respectively - a result which falls slap bang in the middle of the tough-to-explore region where many physicists were adamant the Higgs was hiding.

The results being announced today definitively point to a new particle or particles which fit the description of a Higgs Boson, but further research will be needed to characterise it properly.

The Higgs boson is the final piece of the Standard Model of Particle Physics, a theoretical model which describes the fundamental particles and forces that control our Universe.

It was first theorised in the 1960s by Edinburgh-based physicist Peter Higgs, amongst others, and is credited for giving all other particles mass. But until now, it has proved impossible to pin down.

To do so, scientists use the LHC to smash together protons at almost the speed of light and scour the debris for traces of particles that sprang into existence for just a fraction of a second before disintegrating.

Sources have told the Telegraph that ATLAS will today announce a 5-sigma signal and CMS will announce a 4.9-sigma signal of a new particle with a mass which matches many physicists' idea of a Higgs Boson.

An ATLAS researcher said there was "no question" the two detectors are seeing the same thing, adding: "A lot of bets are going to be settled up [today]?.

?After so many years preparing and searching, it?s really amazing to see a clear signal emerge,? a CMS Higgs physicist added.

?This is the sort of thing that makes me cry,? said an ATLAS Higgs physicist. ?It's the kind of crying that accompanies winning something or being overwhelmed with happiness. Human thought and ingenuity have continually created and discovered, but this outdoes them all."

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

99.999% is good enough for me. :p

[f0rk_b0mb]

Awsome! Now I know why I'm made up of mass!

[xendrome]

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

99.999% is good enough for me. :p

Science would say otherwise...

[Tom]

[neo1911]

Not enough evidence!

[123456789A]

What does this boson thing do? Can we use mass effect fields now?

[Detection]

They can make things reach 99.999% the speed of light too ..... but it isn't the speed of light :p

[zeta_immersion]

close ... looking forward to new discoveries and theories (dis)proven .... keep it up ... smashy smashy!!!!!

[Tom]

What does this boson thing do? Can we use mass effect fields now?

It gives things mass.

[The Teej]

They can make things reach 99.999% the speed of light too ..... but it isn't the speed of light :p

Actually according to CERN they can make things reach 100.000000000000000001% the speed of light too ;) :D

[protocol7]

It gives things mass.

So does McDonalds.

[Phouchg]

What does this boson thing do? Can we use mass effect fields now?

It kicks people out of airlocks :D

[Colin McGregor]

scientists use the LHC to smash together protons at almost the speed of light and scour the debris for traces of particles that sprang into existence for just a fraction of a second before disintegrating.

does this mean it proves the big bang theory and disproves the 7 day?

[BoredBozirini]

does this mean it proves the big bang theory and disproves the 7 day?

No, but anyone with a sane head should know that the 7 day "theory" is a bunch of bullocks anyways (by direct consequences of a literal interpretation of it).

[Astra.Xtreme]

Actually according to CERN they can make things reach 100.000000000000000001% the speed of light too ;) :D

That was proven false. Math error.

[Spyder Veteran]

So does McDonalds.

i larfed

[Growled Member]

I feel the same today as I did yesterday and I probably shouldn't. :p

[neoadorable]

yeah Enron, from what i gather this is basically the Eezo of the real world...it can alter mass because it's like the chassis undet the whole universe...or something like that? Doc wlll know.

[HawkMan]

That was proven false. Math error.

Last I remember it wasn't proven anything, it was just a bunch of people who claimed it was probably a math error.

[Daveski]

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

99.999% is good enough for me. :p

Hmmm ... that 0.0001% is still bugging me though. Seriously, I'm not totally sold on this. Mind you, I don't know jack about subatomic physics.

[Daveski]

It kicks people out of airlocks :D

ROTFL "What are doing Dave? ... Dave ... I'm afraid Dave ... "

[Daveski]

does this mean it proves the big bang theory and disproves the 7 day?

The Big Bang Theory is true, I've seen it on the telly. As for the 7 day theory, wasn't it actually 6 days & then [insert deity of your choice] took the day off? LOL

[Growled Member]

Hmmm ... that 0.0001% is still bugging me though. Seriously, I'm not totally sold on this. Mind you, I don't know jack about subatomic physics.

In some circles that's still a huge margin of error.

[streetw0lf]

I just found the Higgs Bison:

[Daveski]

In some circles that's still a huge margin of error.

I should imagine it's a pretty big margin at the quantum level.