CERN discovers new particle. Higgs boson?

[Steven]

I'm surprised there's no thread yet, but here we go. Some of you probably know already that CERN has likely found the Higgs Boson.

the leaders of two research teams, who worked independently of each other, said they had spotted a new particle amid the microscopic flashes of primordial fire created inside the world's most powerful atom smasher.

Cern stopped short of claiming official discovery of the Higgs boson, even as many physicists conceded the evidence was now so compelling they had surely found the missing particle.

Formal confirmation of the discovery is expected within months, though it could take several years for scientists to work out whether they have found the simplest kind of Higgs particle that theories predict, or part of a more complex picture: for example, one of a larger family of Higgs bosons. The discovery of more than one kind of Higgs particle would open the door to an entirely new realm of physics.

"Is it a Higgs boson or not? Well, it has been found using techniques tuned for the Standard Model Higgs. A different object might have stepped in, but it is quite unlikely in my humble opinion," said Tommaso Dorigo, a scientist on the CMS experimental team at Cern. The Standard Model Higgs boson is the most simple proposed version of particle.

Also check the CERN startup thread from a few years back:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5896

[siskue2005]

This is fantastic discovery
Now we can just remove the higgs particle from a spaceship and we can travel at the speed of light

[bhall]

Why stop there? If we're dreaming, the Higgs find could precipitate the discovery of the medium for gravity. Harness that, and you can travel instantly.

Any cosmology fans around here?

[ArchAngel]

Well, I'm a fan of the How The Universe Works / Through The Wormhole series with Morgan Freeman.

[bhall]

Those shows are great. Every time I read or watch something about the universe and its origins or its future(s), I'm always blown away by the possibilities and the realization that our world and everything in it isn't even big enough to be called miniscule.

Earth as seen by Voyager 1.

(Click to enlarge)

Only the dozen or so very bright lights seen below are stars. The rest are galaxies. Over 200,000 of them are pictured, each with billions of stars. I highly recommend downloading the full resolution version. Its' a massive file - 433 MB, 17121 x 10824 px - but well worth the time.

(Click to enlarge)

VY Canis Majoris, the largest known star.

(Click to enlarge)

For a better idea of the scale, here's the Solar System.

(Click to enlarge)

[xpensive]

However mindboggling things like this can be, like when CERN only a couple of month ago declared they had found a particle travelling faster that speed of light, whenever philosophy meets reality, the latter usually wins.

Having said that, I'm a great fan of both the late Isaac Asimov as well as Carl Sagan.

[bhall]

A tachyon is just one of the few theorized particles that can travel faster than the speed of light. In this case, the particle always travels faster than the speed of light.

Along with others, it may or may not exist. But, if there was ever a field where being overly dismissive is just a road to failure, it's theoretical physics.

[siskue2005]

Why not design an f1 car weighing 640 kg at scrutineering and while driving it, we remove the higgs boson from to reduce the weight of the car to nearly zero and go faster than anyone?
and win every single race and every single WDC WCC!!!

[bhall]

The Higgs boson doesn't exist after it has imparted mass. That's why it took 30 years and X billion dollars to find it.

[Pandamasque]

The Higgs boson doesn't exist after it has imparted mass. That's why it took 30 years and X billion dollars to find it.

Wait till Newey sticks a tiny LHC inside the RB9

[bhall]

Wouldn't that be an SHC?

That's not the first time such a seemingly outlandish solution was mentioned in the same breath as F1.

The Hamburger Zeitung published an article that BMW might be considering using a nuclear core in its 2003 - P84 or its 2004 - P86 design. The nuclear core, developed by Munchen Aerospace, would fasten the combustion in a cilinder and thus reaching possibly 30000 rpm.
BMW appears to be afraid to lose his advantage on the competitors, and states the current engine design is at its limit.
Dr. Mario Thiessen rejected comment about this matter, but its rather a question of regulations. Until now it is allowed, but we have seen with Mercedes in 2001, that their berilium engine was forbidden also.
We will certainly hear about this more in the future...

[ds.raikkonen]

Those shows are great. Every time I read or watch something about the universe and its origins or its future(s), I'm always blown away by the possibilities and the realization that our world and everything in it isn't even big enough to be called miniscule.
Only the dozen or so very bright lights seen below are stars. The rest are galaxies. Over 200,000 of them are pictured, each with billions of stars. I highly recommend downloading the full resolution version. Its' a massive file - 433 MB, 17121 x 10824 px - but well worth the time.

(Click to enlarge)
VY Canis Majoris, the largest known star.

You can't compare the VY Canis Majoris with the sun as it is a hypergiant while the Sun is still relatively young, when it becomes a red giant, it ll get bigger. Also, The Pistol star and Betelgeuse are notable due to their size and luminosity.
I did not know there was a thread for particle physics and quantum mechanics related discussion! I ve read books by Stephen Hawking, Leonard Mlodinow, Roger Penrose and Brian Greene. The latter two are extremely difficult to understand though, very technical explanations given in their books for each phenomenon.
Regarding the Higgs particle, it's the Higgs field that provides mass to the particles that move in it and you can't just extract it It is not exactly a 'god' particle, that's ridiculous and used only by the media to make money. Something similar to the GUT or Grand Unified Theory, which is nt really that grand. However, the Standard Model was a start and the Theory of Everything can be called a 'God' theory as it will unify the 4 fundamental forces in the universe.
The thing that puzzles me is Dark Matter and Dark Energy, which constitute about 87% of our universe and still we cant see or feel them. Only their effects are felt as stars in the outer arms of galaxies don't fly off into the void (as their angular velocity would suggest) as they are held in their position by dark energy.

[bhall]

You can't compare the VY Canis Majoris with the sun as it is a hypergiant while the Sun is still relatively young, when it becomes a red giant, it ll get bigger. Also, The Pistol star and Betelgeuse are notable due to their size and luminosity.

[...]

Of course, you can. I pointed to such a comparison to give an idea of scale. It's not like I said, "VY CMa is better than the sun!"

Does someone have star envy?

[ds.raikkonen]

Of course, you can. I pointed to such a comparison to give an idea of scale. It's not like I said, "VY CMa is better than the sun!"

It is BIG. No doubt about that. However, its size is still debatable as the apparent luminosity and apparent size is still not known completely, just a rough guess. Some astronomers say if you keep it where the sun is, its outer layer will reach Jupiter and some say till Saturn.
I personally like the Betelgeuse as it is easy to spot in the night sky in the 'Hunter' or Orion, which is full of blue hyper and supergiants!
And the most fascinating thing for me regarding space are the quasars and pulsars. They makes the hair on my neck stand up!

[bhall]

For me, it's knowing that I'm nothing but evolved star dust. Oh, and the possibility of a multiverse.