Scientists Abuzz Over Rumor that God Particle Has Been Detected at LHC

http://www.livescience.com/13853-higgs-boson-signal-lhc-cern.html

by sasvari • 15 years ago

13 5 15 years ago

hugh32• 15 years ago

I hope when it is discovered then journalists can give up on the nickname "God particle".

Sheesh, it's just the Higgs Boson. It gives mass to particles. It didn't create the universe. It doesn't turn water into wine. It doesn't smite ancient middle-eastern cities for playing with their wangs. And it doesn't love you or demand you love it in return.

pshapiro3• 15 years ago

All the things you listed seem to be propagated by religions, rather than being abilities of a God or things that non-religious people report about gods.

hugh32• 15 years ago

Fine. It doesn't have a giant hammer or throw lightning bolts or... wait, what do non-religious people report about gods?

pshapiro3• 15 years ago

From the article:

Dorigo — who said he doesn't have access to the full ATLAS memo — gives several reasons for this viewpoint. He points out, for example, that scientists at Fermilab didn't see the putative Higgs signal in their Tevatron data, which covered similar ground as the ATLAS experiment.

Dorigo feels strongly enough, in fact, to put his money where his mouth is.

"I bet $1,000 with whomever has a name and a reputation in particle physics (this is a necessary specification, because I need to be sure that the person taking the bet will honor it) that the signal is not due to Higgs boson decays," he wrote on his blog today. "I am willing to bet that this is NO NEW PARTICLE. Clear enough?"

Scientists Abuzz Over Rumor that God Particle Has Been Detected at LHC

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