Why the Higgs ('God Particle') Discovery is Important

NEWS by Robert Naeye

Why the Higgs Discovery Deserves the Hype

Physicists using the Large Hadron Collider announced yesterday their discovery of a particle consistent with the Higgs boson. The find was expected, but it's still a big deal.

A view through the heart of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS), one of the experiments used to detect the Higgs boson. The CMS detects protons smashed together with energies of 7 trillion electron volts.

STFC

Yesterday’s big news story about the discovery of a “Higgs-like particle” at Europe’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is about as surprising as astronomers finding a new exoplanet. A lot of experts have been expecting this Higgs discovery ever since LHC scientists presented preliminary evidence for the particle last year, and optimism was bolstered when researchers at Fermilab in the U.S. unveiled results that are consistent with those at the LHC.

But even if yesterday’s announcement was widely expected, it’s still a big deal, and I won’t be surprised if July 4, 2012, goes down in history as a landmark date in the human quest to understand the universe.
MORE: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/Why-the-Higgs-Discovery-Deserves-the-Hype-161428195.html

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://friendsofthezeiss.org >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
  < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < http://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
  < http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
  < http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
  < http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >