The Moment: CERN Scientist Announces Higgs Boson 'God Particle' Discovery

[Lars77]

Scientists at the CERN research centre in Switzerland welcome the news that a new subatomic particle could be the Higgs boson, the basic building block of the universe. Spokesman for one of the two teams hunting for the Higgs particle, Joe Incandela, makes the announcement. Footage courtesy of Reuters.

[longship]

1. First of all, your title is utter bullshit.

The Higgs Boson was not definitively discovered. And calling it the God Particle misstates everything about the physics behind the putative Higgs discovery.

Just because some idiot headline editor insists on putting "God Particle" into their headline doesn't make it so. The person who coined that terminology, Leon Lederman, regretted it immediately, and renounced it. But the idiot media picked it up and in spite of Lederman's pronouncements, it has stuck. It is bullshit.

Second, a particle was discovered, but it may not be the Higgs. The Atlas experiment had the requisite five-sigma statistics to proclaim that a new particle exists. But there is a lot of science to go through before it can be said to be the Higgs.

The chances that it is the Higgs are very good. But science needs better proof than it looks like. Were that not so, CERN would have announced the Higgs months ago when they only had 1.5 sigma data.

They now have 5 * sigma at Atlas and 4.9 * sigma at the CMS. Good enough to say they have a new particle. But not good enough to say it's the Higgs.

I am done here now.

[Lars77]

2. This is why i love the internet.

And i just wanted to share the announcement. I now regret posting this. I do apologize.

[Surya Gayatri]

7. Thanks so much for posting this, Lars, no matter

what headline you used. Longship's "bullshsit" comment was completely misplaced.
"God particle" has appeared all over the press--by now a kind of tongue-in-cheek joke.

[Lars77]

8. I don't care i just copied the name of the video. :)

[stlsaxman]

10. Thought Lederman was referring to Fermi calling it...

"that goddamn particle" after searching for the boson fruitlessly for 30 years.

"We can thank the Nobel prize-winning physicist Leon Lederman, and his 1993 popular science book, for the catchy nickname.

He wanted to put the Higgs particle at the heart of modern theoretical physics as something that could explain why matter has mass and why, therefore, it comes together to form atoms, molecules, planets and people.

He also pointed out that his publishers rejected his preferred title of "Goddamn particle" (in recognition of its elusiveness) in favour of "God particle".

Peter Higgs has always despised the term, but it stuck. (© Independent News Service)".

from:

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/scientist-wanted-to-call-it-the-goddamn-particle-because-it-was-so-elusive-3159307.html

[VWolf]

12. I remember reading Lederman's book

I believe he originally wanted it to be called the "Leon", although he may have been referring to a different particle.

Someone else on DU suggested it be called the "theon". That made me chuckle.

[demwing]

11. Well thank the God particle you're done here now

because we were all just breathlessly waiting for you to check so we would know what to think and say.

[RVN VET]

13. THANKS, SHELDON.

[tclambert]

3. "I think we have it."

That's the line the nightly news just showed. But thanks for showing the rest. I loved seeing Professor Higgs wiping his eyes. Fifty years he waited for this.

As for the guy expressing outrage at it being called the "God particle," just remember every time you go to church--you can't have mass without the Higgs boson.

[HopeHoops]

4. I'm waiting for a church sign to read, "HIGGS BOSON INSIDE. FRIDAY FISH DINNER."

[tclambert]

5. Myself, I'm avoiding the fried fish and the excess Higgs bosons.

Trying to lose some weight.

I should join "Higgs Bosons Anonymous."

[HopeHoops]

6. The Baptist Church won't be serving Higgs Bosons - just BBQ Bison.

[anon-y-moose]

9. When I was your age sonny ..

We never looked for them Higgs. We spent time discussing the W and Z bosons and the top quark at 172.9±1.5 GeV !