That Goddamn Particle!!-- Elementary Matter

The Higgs boson is often referred to as "the God particle" by the media, after the title of Leon Lederman's popular science book on particle physics, The God Particle: "If the Universe is the Answer, What Is the Question?" While use of this term may have contributed to increased media interest, many scientists dislike it, since it overstates the particle's importance, not least since its discovery would still leave unanswered questions about the unification of Quantum chromodynamics(color vs Energy), the electroweak interaction and gravity, as well as the ultimate origin of the Universe.

A true anecdote...

Leon Lederman had issues with his publisher, because he wanted to name this elemental particle, a freaking 'Goddamn Particle' but was told to change it. To make things easier, he came out with: 'God Particle.'

If HubPages tells you to avoid certain titles, just make up you mind and be imaginative. Holly Shirt!

The God Particle is an hypothetical elementary particle like the ones shown on the chart above. This particle has been giving headaches to Physicists since 1962. The billion of dollars spent in the search of this 'fairy elf' from this 'Neverland' of the subatomic world has been astronomical.

It has left traces like a fossil on a cave and it has been mischievous enough to cause us amazement. No wonder we feel dwarfed by the invisible hand of God, with our own theories.

Einstein's Equation / E=MC²

Without going into deep analysis, we see that Energy is related to matter, but we have to add C² which is the speed, a certain speed in the subatomic world to the equation; not just adding, multyplying! Hence the power to create an atomic bomb by Fission.

Experiments to determine whether the Higgs boson 'exists' are currently being performed using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at Cern, and were performed at Fermilab's Tevatron until its closure in late 2011. The Higgs field is a quantum field that fills all of space, and explains why fundamental particles such as electrons and quarks have mass.

What a 4th of July!!

On the Fourth of July 2012, Fabiola Gianotti and Joseph Incandela, current spokespersons for the ATLAS and CMS experiments, will present the latest results on the Higgs from the LHC. Had to wait 17.5 billion years just to find out an elusive truth.

Mass of that hypotethical God particle, most likely 115–130 GeV/c²

1 GeV/c² = 1.783×10⁻²⁷ kg

We are going to break things down for the masses. Imagine two buildings from the Chart above; one is the composite particle House (pink) at the Elementary Particle Neighborhood, where you can find the classical atom and particles that 'we' learned about in High School(Yeah! that basic heliocentric graphic from Dalton and Niels Bohr). Neutrinos, Protons, Mesons and Baryons lived there from the beginning of the Universe ( She-bang's Theory... sorry: Big bang!)

On the other building named Force Carriers dwell Energetic guards with magnetic helmets that mostly are quanta or photons, there is a weak portion of almost nonexistent sort of a ghost with a sombrero (with jalapeños inside). We have been told that he has been trespassing the pink building just to excite the tenants and accomplish a mission. He is suspected of smuggling 'non diet energetic nachos' that have been around from Creation. When Guards (Gluons, Photons and Gravitons) from the energetic YELLOW building show up, they smell a rat, better said, they smell traces of tortilla chips and a spicy odor.

The tenants seem to be a little heavier and intoxicated. But there is no proof of this ghost's presence. For the last six months cameras (CERN) have been installed and it was necessary the use of cyclotron hydrants (LHC) with ultra accelerated power washing machines, just to make them talk (collide) and tell us the truth.

The thing is, this Ghost carries a duty and might be guilty of giving mass and unique behavior to those mesons protons and electrons from the beggining of time. The Higgs field is the front porch of the pink house where the party was taking place. The Ghost was giving away sombreros and keep the party going (5 de Mayo) We will have to double check the evidence. On July the 4Th the true will be revealed.

Why is so important?

It must be duly noted that the discovery of the Higgs boson won't change people's lives but will explain the solid foundation of the universe, confirming the standard model of physics that explains why fundamental particles have mass, which is a trait that combines with gravity to give an object weight (F=m.a) . There is a strong reason for the Higgs boson to be around, or be 'felt around.' What was before the Big bang anyways?

From Ptolemy to Tycho Brahe, Newton and even Einstein the Universe has been hiding that unreachable hand of God. Can you imagine your body getting disintegrated due to the lack of that interaction thanks to a molecular force that keeps us from becoming just dust before our due time? This time we will find out how Scotty beamed Captain Kirk up...!



Researchers at CERN have conclude today that they have found a new sub-atomic particle consistent with the long sought Higgs boson. ATLAS experiment spokesperson Fabiola Gianotti along with colleague Joe Incandela made the announcement official. "This is indeed a new particle. We know it must be a boson and it’s the heaviest boson ever found," said in a statement Joe Incandela, spokesperson for LHC's CMS experiment.

The announcement gathered thousand of physicist from all over the world. The graphic (right) from the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva shows traces of a proton-proton collision measured in the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experience in the search for the Higgs boson. After a quest spanning nearly half a century, physicists on Wednesday said they had found a new sub-atomic particle consistent with the Higgs boson, which is believed to confer mass. Now we know why we as humans do not just turn into flying particles. But the quest is not over.