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Tuesday, July 8th 2008

Keep your eyes peeled for the Higgs Boson

(Deep breath)

It is the only Standard Model particle not yet observed, but would help explain how otherwise massless elementary particles still manage to construct mass in matter. In particular, it would explain the difference between the massless photon and the relatively massive W and Z bosons. Elementary particle masses, and the differences between electromagnetism (caused by the photon) and the weak force (caused by the W and Z bosons), are critical to many aspects of the structure of microscopic (and hence macroscopic) matter; thus, if it exists, the Higgs boson has an enormous effect on the world around us.

Still with me?

At his point I should point out that if you look up ‘Higgs Boson’ on wikipedia it says ‘All or part of this article may be confusing or unclear’.

Well you’re not wrong there!

The crazy guys in white coats in CERN have been busy creating The Large Hadron Collider, a particle accelerator complex spanning the border between Switzerland and France near Geneva. LHC will smash together opposing beams of either protons or lead ions inside a massive circular accelerator.

Basically, when they switch it on (in about a month’s time, although it’s been delayed more times than a Network South East train) it could create a microscopic black hole that swallows up the Earth, the universe and all the lost socks from every washing machine everywhere! Yes folks, it’s the end of the world time (again).

Except it probably isn’t.

Those in white coats say ‘Although stable microscopic black holes are not expected in theory, study of the consequences of their production by cosmic rays shows that they would be harmless’.

That’s okay then. So why smash things together like a teething two-year-old?

The LHC was built to help scientists answer unresolved questions in particle physics and to recreate the conditions just after the big bang. It is theorized that when activated it will produce the elusive Higgs Boson. The Higgs Boson will help us better understand the origins of the universe, Which is what the LHC is all about, it’s about solving the mysteries physicists and scientists alike have been plagued with for centuries.

‘Only experimental data using the higher energies reached by the LHC can push knowledge forward, challenging those who seek confirmation of established knowledge, and those who dare to dream beyond the paradigm.’

So here goes, I look forward to the results. See you on the other side.