First theorized in the 1960s by Peter Higgs as one of the key fundamentals of particles and the Standard Model, the "God Particle" as it's been popularly called has finally stepped from the shadows of theory into the light of reality.
Scientists at CERN announced Wednesday the discovery of a new subatomic particle that is consistent with the theorized Boson.
"We have now found the missing cornerstone of particle physics," Dr. Rolf Heuer, director of the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN), told scientists. "We have observed a new particle that is consistent with a Higgs boson."
Yet despite the great discovery and rush to classify just what it is that's been discovered, Dr. Heuer is quick to point out that it's too early to know just what they've found, and the whether it's actually the Higgs-boson particle they've been seeking all these years.
"As a layman, I think we have it. But as a scientist, I have to say, 'What do we have?' It is consistent with a Higgs boson as is needed for the standard model. We can only call it A Higgs boson - not THE Higgs boson."
The subatomic particle is believed to be the catalyst behind supplying mass to objects, which coupled with gravity (believed to be the cause of another mystery particle, the Graviton), give every object in the universe weight.
The Higgs-boson-like particle was discovered using CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a massive 27KM underground atom smasher that has been used to help better understand antimatter (which no longer exists today, but existed in nearly equal amounts to matter following the Big Bang), dark matter, and the creation of the universe.
Higgs himself was invited to attend the presentation, and while he stopped short of saying it was the particle he had so long ago theorized, he said finding something close "is an incredible thing that it has happened in my lifetime".
"This boson is a very profound thing we have found. We're reaching into the fabric of the universe in a way we never have done before. We've kind of completed one particle's story. Now, we're way out on the edge of exploration" Said Dr. Joe Incandela, the leader of CMS, one of the two CERN teams, along with ATLAS, that worked on the experiments and presented their subsequent findings at the presentation.
Next up for scientists will be to try to hold onto one of these Boson particles long enough to study just how it manages to give mass to objects, and to better understand it. It's slight divergence from what would be expected under the Standard Model hints at the possibility of new discoveries ahead, possibly including more as yet unknown particles, and a better understanding of the 96% of the universe that remains hidden from us (dark matter and dark energy).
