The Higgs Boson really, really is the Higgs Boson.
At first, testing at the Large Hadron Collider revealed a particle that was likely the Higgs Boson, the theorized particle that gives the universe its mass. Then, more tests confirmed we were even more sure about it--there was a one-in-550 million chance it wasn't the Higgs. Now, after even more tests, it's been confirmed: beyond a shadow of a doubt, the particle uncovered is the Higgs.
So it's not surprising, given the odds we already had, that this has been announced. But it's still amazing! Although there's another slight caveat: this boson could be a particle described by the Standard Model, or another brand of Higgs boson described by other theories, although it's apparently leaning toward the SM variety. To find out, scientists will be monitoring how it decays, which means more tests. Because you can never test something like this enough.
Big Smash: Atlas's eight giant superconducting magnets, together powerful enough to crush a bus CERN
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-03/particle-believed-be-higgs-boson-really-higgs-boson?src=SOC&;dom=fb
At first, testing at the Large Hadron Collider revealed a particle that was likely the Higgs Boson, the theorized particle that gives the universe its mass. Then, more tests confirmed we were even more sure about it--there was a one-in-550 million chance it wasn't the Higgs. Now, after even more tests, it's been confirmed: beyond a shadow of a doubt, the particle uncovered is the Higgs.
So it's not surprising, given the odds we already had, that this has been announced. But it's still amazing! Although there's another slight caveat: this boson could be a particle described by the Standard Model, or another brand of Higgs boson described by other theories, although it's apparently leaning toward the SM variety. To find out, scientists will be monitoring how it decays, which means more tests. Because you can never test something like this enough.
Big Smash: Atlas's eight giant superconducting magnets, together powerful enough to crush a bus CERN
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-03/particle-believed-be-higgs-boson-really-higgs-boson?src=SOC&;dom=fb
Read more at http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=6bc_1363281899#3gUgxd39F1yFGMrw.99
