Higgs Boson Discovered??

Scientists have discovered a sub-atomic particle they believe is crucial in the formation of the universe, or at least crucial to the Standard Model in physics and our current understanding of how our universe works.

Scientists in Geneva say the discovery still needs to be verified, but it is the strongest evidence yet that the – Higgs – particle exists.

Scientist have all but said the words “we’ve found it”

Professor Themis Bowcock, head of particle physics at the University of Liverpool said Based on CERN results there appears to be less than one chance in a million that this is a fake,” Professor Bowckock has worked on the Large Hedron Collider and says ” Very few physicists would privately argue that this is not a Higgs Particle”.

The European Organisation for Nuclear Research – CERN – said in a statement that the particle is “consistent with the long-sought Higgs boson“.

Dr Rolf-Dieter Heuer, director General of CERN said in an interview that the discovery was ” a historic milestone.”

Dr. Heuer and others have said that it was too soon to know for sure that the new particle – wieghing in ata na acceptable 125 billion electron volts, and one of the heaviest sub-atomic particle yet discovered – is indeed the elusive Higgs boson :: Read the full article »»»»

World Holds it’s Breath as CERN Prepares to Deliver Higgs Boson

The last few months has been an itch for physicists and boffins alike, hints that CERN had discovered something big, the God Particle? Scientists have wrestled with this elusive Higgs boson particle for the last half a century. In mid December last year CERN made an almost announcement on Higgs: Higgs Boson: ‘The God Particle’ Nearly, But Not Quite!? Earlier we pinned hopes on Higgs boson with: Sorry Albert!! and who can forget the furor created by Opera: Faster Than The Speed of Light.

So will the mystery be solved, we think not… physicists are once again building the hype. Anyone who expects a solid confirmation of the death of Relativity is not living on the same plain as the physicists who juggle sub-atomic particles.

No doubt a major milestone in solving the decades-old puzzle about the nature of matter will be announced  tomorrow night, most likely a teaser though. The results of what scientists are calling an extremely important experiment will be announced in Geneva – where the international High Energy Physics conference is taking place – tomorrow, at 5pm Australia time, TUNE IN for an update.

The findings may, or may not, confirm existing theories of the way the universe – and our world – are held together. The European Organisation for Nuclear Research – CERN – has been leading the search for the Higgs boson, an elusive sub-atomic particle dubbed  the “God Particle”, which is believed to confer mass :: Read the full article »»»»

Loose Cable Behind CERN Faster-than-light Result

The controversial finding that cast a large shadow of doubt over Einstein’s belief that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light might have been caused by a loose cable, the lab behind the result said. Physicists at the CERN laboratory near Geneva appeared to contradict Albert Einstein last year when they reported that sub-atomic particles called neutrinos could travel fractions of a second faster than light. Einstein had said nothing could travel faster than light.

James Gillies, a spokesman for CERN, said the lab’s startling result was now in doubt. Earlier on Wednesday, the website ScienceInsider reported the surprising result was down to a loose fibre optic cable linking a Global Positioning System satellite receiver to a computer. ScienceInsider is run by the respected American Association for the Advancement of Science. Mr Gillies confirmed a flaw in the GPS system was now suspected as a possible cause for the surprising reading. Gillies’ says further testing was needed before any definite conclusions could be reached :: Read the full article »»»»

International Research Team Claim New Data Transfer Record

A team of international researchers has set a new data transfer record. A memory to memory data transfer rate of of 186 gigabits a second. The  team cranked up the network at the SuperComputing 2011 conference in Seattle in mid-November. Transferring data in opposite directions over a wide-area network circuit. The rate is equivalent to moving two million gigabytes per day, fast enough to transfer nearly 100,000 full Blu-ray disks – each with a complete movie and all the extras –  a day. The researchers reached transfer rates of 98 gigabits per second between the University of Victoria Computing Centre located in Victoria, British Columbia, and the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. Coupled with a simultaneous data rate of 88 Gbps in the opposite direction the team reached the astounding two-way data rate of 186 Gbps to break their own previous peak-rate record of 119 Gbps set in 2009. READ MORE

Higgs Boson: ‘The God Particle’ Nearly, But Not Quite!?

Scientists at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research - CERN -  say they have found signs of – although not yet conclusively discovered – the Higgs boson, an elementary particle which is the missing link in the Standard Model of physics.

The famed particle is the missing link in current theories of physics, used to explain how everything gains its mass. Rumors have been crashing about the scientific community for weeks on these findings.

Fabiola Gianotti, the scientist in charge of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, said the signal was centred at around 126 – GeV – Giga Electron Volts.

“I think it would be extremely kind of the Higgs boson to be here,” Gianotti told a seminar to discuss the findings :: Read the full article »»»»

Sorry Albert!!

It is it seems the week of Albert, Einstein that is! After have his theory of Relativity questioned by OPERA - Albert Einstein can once again rest in peace. Scientists at the Niels Bohr Institute have proven his General Theory of Relativity. In fairness the researchers have not only proven the theory, they’ve done it on a cosmic scale. Through their research of large galaxy clusters – which are the largest known gravity bound objects anywhere – have such a strong pull that they should cause light to red-shift -  proportionally increase in wavelength – shifting towards the red end of the visible spectrum. To test it, researchers measured beams from 8,000 clusters, revealing that they do indeed cause a change in light’s wave-length, supporting Albert’s theory. Check the clever boffins at Niels Bohr > www.nbi.ku.dk

OPERA :: Faster Than The Speed of Light

Scientists from the European Organization for Nuclear Research and the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics, under the experiment banner of OPERA  are reporting that sub-atomic particles known as neutrinos have the ability to travel faster than the speed of light, a discovery that if verified, would completely disassemble Einstein’s theory of special as well as general relativity. Or, at the outside these findings – if correct – may force science to re-calculate the speed of light :: Read the full article »»»»