Higgs Boson found

[Christopher]

Or:

Well, they wouldn't have had to go to so much trouble if Mr. Higgs hadn't lost his boson in the first place.

 

[Relayer1]

Or:

Well, they wouldn't have had to go to so much trouble if Mr. Higgs hadn't lost his boson in the first place.

I seriously thought about posting that it had been found where it had been left, under some papers on Prof. Higgs desk, but decided against it as it seemed a bit silly.

Then our resident physicist does it for me !

Thanks Christopher !

 

[Vendikarr]

Or:

Well, they wouldn't have had to go to so much trouble if Mr. Higgs hadn't lost his boson in the first place.

I seriously thought about posting that it had been found where it had been left, under some papers on Prof. Higgs desk, but decided against it as it seemed a bit silly.

Then our resident physicist does it for me !

Thanks Christopher !

It's always in the last place you look.

 

[gturner]

Or maybe not the Higgs.

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/428428/higgs-boson-may-be-an-imposter-say-particle/

Today, Ian Low at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois and a couple of buddies comb through the data in an attempt to throw some light on this question. Their conclusion is that the data is consistent with at least two other particles that are not the standard Higgs boson.

...

Low and co analyse the data and come to the following conclusion. "A generic Higgs doublet and a triplet imposter give equally good fits to the measured event rates."

In particular, they say that the predicted signatures of the Higgs boson and the triplet imposter are both within one sigma of the measured value. And by one measure, the CERN data even favours the triplet imposter.

However, Low and co are quick to add that the Standard Model prediction is a slightly better fit overall.

 

[MacLeod]

^Well didn't they originally say that it wasn't definite and they need to study the data further?

 

[iguana_tonante]

They were pretty clear on the fact that they found a particle that is compatible with the Higg's boson's expected behaviour.

 

[MacLeod]

So I hadn't imagined that part of the announcement then.

 

[gturner]

I guess all this really shows is that the sigma calculation might be a good but not sufficient measure. It reminds me of some early DNA forensics cases in Britain, where an ethnic person would get convicted because there was a one-in a million chance the DNA match was wrong, based on Britain's population. Then, for example, it turns out that the DNA really only narrowed it down to him and sixty of his fellow immigrants from southeast Nowhereistan, half of whom were in the same bar that night.

Anyway, I'm sure the particle physicists will focus on eliminating these other possibilities.

 

[Christopher]

They were pretty clear on the fact that they found a particle that is compatible with the Higg's boson's expected behaviour.

Consistent with its predicted mass, rather. And they haven't yet confirmed whether its spin is zero, as predicted for the Higgs boson.

This is how science is supposed to work. It doesn't trumpet claims of absolute certainty; it reports results and then tests those results. The news media want to turn it into some big event, some single announcement of revealed truth, but science is a steady, deliberative process.

 

[iguana_tonante]

They were pretty clear on the fact that they found a particle that is compatible with the Higg's boson's expected behaviour.

Consistent with its predicted mass, rather. And they haven't yet confirmed whether its spin is zero, as predicted for the Higgs boson.

You are right. I was writing sloppily. Thanks for the correction.

 

[Sagart]

The Higgs Boson particle goes into a church, walks up to the priest and says, " Hang on there! You can't have mass without me!"

 

[EmoBorg]

I am just curious. What possible benefits can we gain from the discovery of the Higgs Boson? Is there any future practical applications due to the result of this discovery?

The reason i ask this question is that i am hoping for a star trek like energy matter conversion technology in the future. That technology will end all conflicts that are fought for non energy resources like the ones we see in Africa and South America.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Obviously, understanding how the universe actually works is not important enough. What we really need are economic benefits and cheap Star Trek technobabble.

 

[EmoBorg]

Obviously, understanding how the universe actually works is not important enough. What we really need are economic benefits and cheap Star Trek technobabble.

yes it is all about economics. That was billions of dollars of tax payers money spent by CERN on research. I am all for research provided it has some practical applications for the future. I want folk's tax money to be accountable. That is nothing wrong with that.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Then I'm glad you are not in charge of research funding for CERN or any other scientific institution.

 

[EmoBorg]

Then I'm glad you are not in charge of research funding for CERN or any other scientific institution.

 

[Captain_Nick]

Obviously, understanding how the universe actually works is not important enough. What we really need are economic benefits and cheap Star Trek technobabble.

And flying cars. We were promised them almost thirty years ago, and we're still waiting.....

 

[trekkiedane]

Then I'm glad you are not in charge of research funding for CERN or any other scientific institution.

+1

 

[Christopher]

I am just curious. What possible benefits can we gain from the discovery of the Higgs Boson? Is there any future practical applications due to the result of this discovery?

That's the thing -- you never know what applications new knowledge may have until you've studied it. Nobody would've expected a study of bread mold to have practical applications until it led to the discovery of penicillin and antibiotics. In Ben Franklin's day, electricity was considered a parlor trick, a mere curiosity, but it went on to transform the entire world.

All of science is interconnected. Verifying the Standard Model -- or refuting it and forcing us to modify it -- will improve our understanding of the laws of physics as a whole, and that could clearly be of benefit to many different practical applications. Look at relativity. You wouldn't think that all that stuff about time dilation in spaceships would have any relevance to everyday life, right? It's just way-off science fiction, surely. Except it isn't -- the GPS technology we use every day is dependent on relativistic time dilation, because it computes the relative position of satellites by comparing the differences in their clock rates resulting from their different velocities and altitudes. So understanding the broader laws of physics has led to a practical, everyday application in a way most people never would've expected. Because everything's connected, and understanding the foundations of how the world works can help you get a better handle on everything that happens within it.

 

[EmoBorg]

Well if it leads to the future improvement of mankind, i am for it then. The West must gain a lot of new theoretical knowledge and put them to a practical use at a future date.

Asia especially China is coming up fast. China already has 3 trillions dollars (US) in foreign reserves. It could settle Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal entire debts easily and still have money to lend to the USA. The West must maintain its technological edge if it is to survive.