The most-asked, most-hotly pursued question in physics today is what determines mass in an object. Scientists at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, as well as at Fermilab in Illinois, are hoping to find what they call the "Higgs Boson", or what is known as God Particle. Higgs, they believe, is a particle, or set of particles, that might give others mass. This particle has been called the “God particle” because it would explain the eternal question, “Why is there something rather than nothing?”
Till date Higgs Boson is the single missing piece of the Standard Model yet to be spotted. Electromagnetism describes how particles interact with photons, tiny packets of electromagnetic radiation. The strong force binds the elements of atomic nuclei together, and the weak force governs radioactivity and hydrogen fusion (which generates the sun's energy).
Why should I be aware of this?
If God Particle is found the present theory of particle physics will be proved correct. If not physicists will have to develop another theory. There is another school of thoughts which oppose the experiment. The opponents, who have taken its architects to court in the United States and France, believe it will create black holes in which the Earth could disappear. But scientist on the project assure that they will blink in and out of existence before anything scary happens.
God Particle and social/mental health
There are reports of a section of people traumatized by news of Big Bang experiment and the fear created by rumors about the end of the world. A 16-year old girl from Madhya Pradesh, India, killed herself by consuming pesticide after watching doomsday predictions made on Indian news programmes.
In East India several people prayed and fasted for Divine intervention to save the world. Many women and children visited temples and prayed for deliverance, according to official reports
All about God Particle
Does Higgs Boson exist?
To determine whether the Higgs Boson exists, researchers must smash other particles together at very high speeds. If the energy from that collision is high enough, it is converted into smaller bits of matter -- particles -- one of which could be a Higgs Boson. Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the most powerful particle accelerator ever built, is the Big Bang test machine which is expected to open a new window on the universe. The Big Bang machine has already been switched on and the protons have completed their first circuit. The eventual collision of two proton beams is scheduled for October 21, which scientists hope will create a ‘mini-bang’, mimicking conditions that existed a “microsecond” after the Big Bang almost 14 billion years ago.
The first test fired a beam of protons clockwise around the 17-mile tunnel of the collider deep under the rolling fields along the Swiss-French border. Then another beam was sent in the opposite, counterclockwise direction The beams will gradually be filled with more protons and fired at near the speed of light in opposite directions around the tunnel, making 11,000 circuits a second. They will travel down the middle of two tubes about the width of fire hoses, speeding through a vacuum that is colder than outer space. At four points in the tunnel, the scientist will use giant magnets to cross the beams and cause protons to collide. The collider's two largest detectors — essentially huge digital cameras weighing thousands of tons — are capable of taking millions of snapshots a second.
It is likely to be several weeks before the first significant collisions. The first test fired a beam of protons clockwise around the 17-mile tunnel of the collider deep under the rolling fields along the Swiss-French border. Then another beam was sent in the opposite, counter-clockwise direction.
The beams will gradually be filled with more protons and fired at near the speed of light in opposite directions around the tunnel, making 11,000 circuits a second. They will travel down the middle of two tubes about the width of fire hoses, speeding through a vacuum that is colder than outer space. At four points in the tunnel, the scientist will use giant magnets to cross the beams and cause protons to collide. The collider's two largest detectors — essentially huge digital cameras weighing thousands of tons — are capable of taking millions of snapshots a second.
It is likely to be several weeks before the first significant collisions
"Dark matter" and antimatter
The CERN experiments could reveal more about "dark matter," antimatter and possibly hidden dimensions of space and time. Smaller colliders have been used for decades to study the makeup of the atom. Scientists once thought protons and neutrons were the smallest components of an atom's nucleus, but experiments have shown that protons and neutrons are made of quarks and gluons and that there are other forces and particles.
The experiments could help scientists find answers to some of the biggest questions in physics, such as why the universe looks the way it does, and how to explain mass, gravity and mysterious "dark matter".
These experiments will have a profound effect on how we see the world and the advancement of science. Higgs Boson may gradually change our complete understanding of the world. It is a very exciting time.
Very good article. Thanks for sharing it.
Unfortunately we won’t find out at the rate they keep going. It has problems at least once a week and they keep pushing back the collider action. Maybe someday we’ll know what will happen, but not anytime soon.
Thanks for sharing. I finally learned what is all about this CERN thing and the god particle, because i didn’t come to any reasonable explanation until now.
I never heard of the god particle till i read this article, sounds interesting, i wonder if they find it?
nice post, you explained it well… thanks for sharing