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'God particle' discovery hailed
Cern/PA
Scientists at Cern say they have found a sub-atomic particle 'consistent' with the Higgs boson (Cern/PA)
Scientists have hailed the "momentous" discovery of what appears to be the "God particle" that gives matter mass and holds the fabric of the universe together.
Teams at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the £2.6 billion atom smashing machine near Geneva, say they have found a new sub-atomic particle "consistent" with the Higgs boson.
The results are preliminary and more work is needed before the scientists can be sure of what "species" of particle they have captured. But observations carried out so far show it looks and acts like the long-sought particle that has eluded them for 50 years.
Finding the Higgs is vital to the Standard Model, the theory that describes the web of particles, forces and interactions that make up the universe.
Without the Higgs boson to give matter mass and weight, there could be no Standard Model universe. If it was proved not to exist, scientists would have to tear up the theory and go back to the drawing board.
The announcement came at a packed seminar at the Geneva headquarters of Cern, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, where a tense audience heard the latest progress report from the LHC.
Speaking at a London briefing with a live link to the seminar, Professor John Womersley, chief executive of the Science and Technology Research Council, said: "They have discovered a particle consistent with the Higgs boson. Discovery is the important word; that is confirmed. It's a momentous day for science."
Scientists have confirmed that two of the LHC's giant detectors, CMS and Atlas, had delivered results that reached the definitive "five sigma" level of proof. A sigma is a measure of how likely it is that a finding is down to chance. At five sigma, the likelihood of a statistical fluke is one in a million.
Professor Peter Higgs, the retired British physicist from Edinburgh University after whom the particle was named, was in the Geneva audience. He dreamed up the concept of the Higgs mechanism to explain mass while walking in the Cairngorms in 1964. The unassuming Prof Higgs, who is known to shun the limelight, could now be on his way to winning a Nobel prize.
Professor Higgs wiped a tear from his eye as the findings were announced. He said later: "I would like to add my congratulations to everyone involved in this achievement. It's really an incredible thing that it's happened in my lifetime."
Teams at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the £2.6 billion atom smashing machine near Geneva, say they have found a new sub-atomic particle "consistent" with the Higgs boson.
The results are preliminary and more work is needed before the scientists can be sure of what "species" of particle they have captured. But observations carried out so far show it looks and acts like the long-sought particle that has eluded them for 50 years.
Finding the Higgs is vital to the Standard Model, the theory that describes the web of particles, forces and interactions that make up the universe.
Without the Higgs boson to give matter mass and weight, there could be no Standard Model universe. If it was proved not to exist, scientists would have to tear up the theory and go back to the drawing board.
The announcement came at a packed seminar at the Geneva headquarters of Cern, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, where a tense audience heard the latest progress report from the LHC.
Speaking at a London briefing with a live link to the seminar, Professor John Womersley, chief executive of the Science and Technology Research Council, said: "They have discovered a particle consistent with the Higgs boson. Discovery is the important word; that is confirmed. It's a momentous day for science."
Scientists have confirmed that two of the LHC's giant detectors, CMS and Atlas, had delivered results that reached the definitive "five sigma" level of proof. A sigma is a measure of how likely it is that a finding is down to chance. At five sigma, the likelihood of a statistical fluke is one in a million.
Professor Peter Higgs, the retired British physicist from Edinburgh University after whom the particle was named, was in the Geneva audience. He dreamed up the concept of the Higgs mechanism to explain mass while walking in the Cairngorms in 1964. The unassuming Prof Higgs, who is known to shun the limelight, could now be on his way to winning a Nobel prize.
Professor Higgs wiped a tear from his eye as the findings were announced. He said later: "I would like to add my congratulations to everyone involved in this achievement. It's really an incredible thing that it's happened in my lifetime."
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