· Google ·
Posted on 03/13/2009 8:04:31 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
CHICAGO (AFP) – Physicists have come closer to finding the elusive "God Particle," which they hope could one day explain why particles have mass, the US Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory announced Friday.
Researchers at the Fermilab have managed to shrink the territory where the elusive Higgs Boson particle is expected to be found -- a discovery placing the American research institute ahead of its European rival in the race to discover one of the biggest prizes in physics.
Physicists have long puzzled over how particles acquire mass.
In 1964, a British physicist, Peter Higgs, came up with this idea: there must exist a background field that would act rather like treacle.
Particles passing through it would acquire mass by being dragged through a mediator, which theoreticians dubbed the Higgs Boson.
The standard quip about the Higgs is that it is the "God Particle" -- it is everywhere but remains frustratingly elusive.
Confirming the Higgs would fill a huge gap in the so-called Standard Model, the theory that summarizes our present knowledge of particles. Over the years, scientists have whittled down the ranges of mass that the Higgs is likely to have.
Physicists were hopeful that the particle could be found with Europe's Big Bang atom-smasher, the Large Hadron Collider.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Hmmm...
Why do they have to find it?
How do they know it's a "god" particle?
After they find it (IF they find it) what will they do with it?
So, here is the important question: Will the God particle look like Jesus or Charlton Heston?
This way we can know the one true religion.
It all came about purely by accident. Just a quirk of nature.
Agreed.
My own view is that God set the Universe in motion according to certain Laws, which hold at all levels and in every instance, astronomical and subatomic. What we call "chance" is only our limited ability as humans to adequately model and understand the near-infinity of precursor events that play into and affect every subsequent event.
And I see no reason why God could not have set up Laws that include an element of indefiniteness. I disagree with Einstein on that one.
Popular culture is the antithesis of scientific rigor, and the "popularizers" who endeavor to enlighten the public a little about science generally end up weakening the science to the point where it's laughable and embarrassing to those of us who take it seriously.
Scientific method and religious study are not opposites on a linear spectrum, nor are they orthogonal. They're different paths to similar goals. Those (of either camp) who deny that, simply haven't taken a step back to view the larger scope of human striving for enlightenment.
Personally, I think Glashow's name for the Higgs is better: Weinberg's Toilet.
Oh, the romantic notion in the nickname is fine. I just think it was unwise to use that phrase in public, given the overwhelming likelihood of misunderstanding among those who only read the words and immediately inject their own interpretation, without stopping to learn the philosophical underpinnings of the statement.
>> What we call “chance” is only our limited ability as humans to adequately model and understand the near-infinity of precursor events that play into and affect every subsequent event.
near-infinity? Interesting limit, I think...
God is super to and transcends ontology.God to be sure is different from the world. But he is different in the way in which this difference is experienced in our original, transcendental experience. In this experience this peculiar and unique difference is experienced in such a way that he whole of reality is borne by this term and this source and is intelligible only within it. Consequently, it is precisely the difference which establishes the ultimate unity between God and the world, and the difference becomes intelligible only in this unity."
Rahner, Karl. Foundations of Christian Faith. New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1995.
I’ve always thought of God as energy, not matter, unless He’s both.
So we can expect the motherf******* g******m piece of s*** particle pretty soon?
· Google ·
A lighter Higgs makes particle hunt harder
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2206342/posts
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017939/posts
Prof Peter Higgs interview:
Smashing atoms at CERN and the hunt for the ‘God’ particle
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1998751/posts
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1997962/posts
No sign of the Higgs boson
New Scientist | December 5, 2001 (note the year) | Eugenie Samuel
Posted on 04/10/2007 8:48:56 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1814966/posts
Physicists Find Tiny Particle With No Charge,
Very Low Mass And Sub-nanosecond Lifetime
ScienceDaily | December 7, 2006
Posted on 12/07/2006 6:00:02 PM PST by annie laurie
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1750170/posts
Where Does Visible Light Come From?
Universe Today | Jan 25, 2005 | Jeff Barbour
Posted on 01/25/2005 9:12:58 PM PST by ckilmer
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1328632/posts
String Theory, at 20, Explains It All
(Are There 10 Dimensions Of Space and Time?)
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Posted on 12/10/2004 7:09:09 AM PST by shrinkermd
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1298550/posts
String Theory, at 20, Explains It All (or Not)
The New York Times | December 7, 2004 | Dennis Overbye
Posted on 12/07/2004 10:01:55 AM PST by snarks_when_bored
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1296277/posts
‘God particle’ may have been seen
BBC News Online | Wednesday, 10 March, 2004 | By Paul Rincon
Posted on 03/11/2004 4:45:23 AM PST by Momaw Nadon
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1095315/posts
A vast cavern is the stage for tests to find the ‘God particle’
The Times
Posted on 06/09/2003 6:11:13 AM PDT by andy224
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/925711/posts
New Step Underground in Universe Origins Quest (LHC)
Yahoo! Science | 6/4/03 | Robert Evans - Reuters
Posted on 06/04/2003 6:45:04 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/923351/posts
What is mass?
Source: EurekAlert
Published: 1-31-2001 Author: Marcus Chown
Posted on 02/01/2001 21:46:50 PST by Textide
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a7a49ca41a4.htm
Whoops! And thanks BIGLOOK, hadn’t got far enough down the screen yet. :’)
No sign of the Higgs boson
New Scientist | December 5, 2001 (note the year) | Eugenie Samuel
Posted on 04/10/2007 8:48:56 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1814966/posts
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