A Michigan angle to the Higgs boson discovery plus bonus coverage

Examiner.com: Michigan, Wayne State scientists part of team that discovered likely Higgs boson

More than two dozen scientists from Michigan research universities, including teams from the University of Michigan and Wayne State University, contributed to the discovery of a particle that fits the description of the Higgs boson. They were part of an effort that included more than 1,700 scientists from the United States, including scientists from 89 universities and seven Department of Energy laboratories. Many hundreds more from other countires also participated in research based at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland and the Tevatron collider at Fermilab in the United States.

If confirmed as the Higgs boson, the discovery of the particle culminates a search that began in 1964, when scientists proposed a particle that when coupled with other particles determines their mass. Without this particle, and the Higgs field it represents, matter would have no mass. Without mass, there would be no gravity, and thus no planets, stars, or galaxies, and therefore, no humans.

As Wayne State University scientist Robert Harr explained in a press release, "The Higgs boson is the last piece of a theory established nearly a half century ago. It plays a unique role in the theory and therefore we must see if what is found is the Higgs boson or something else.”

One University of Michigan scientist, physicist Gordon Kane, earned more than his share of the discovery. He won $100 in a wager with Nobel Prize winner Stephen Hawking, who bet that the Higgs boson would never be discovered. "I surely won," Kane said in a press release released Thursday, July 5th, "but I have not heard directly from him yet." Hawking conceded in an interview with BBC.

Quotes and reactions from U of M and Wayne State University professors at the link in the subject line.

I'm leading tonight's Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Higgs boson and heat wave edition) with this article. It's shameless self-promotion, but I couldn't resist, especially once I found a great local angle on the top science story of the week.

Here is the video that accompanies this article.

University of Michigan Professor Gordon Kane explains the Higgs field and Higgs particle.

The rest of the Higgs boson coverage from Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday on Daily Kos is below the jump.



Discovery News: Rapturous Applause for Higgs Boson Scientists: Photos
July 4, 2012

This morning, physicists from the $10 billion Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, near Geneva, Switzerland, announced something as profound as it was historic. Scientists, engineers and journalists lined up for hours ahead of the meeting, expecting big news.

At the CERN auditorium, the atmosphere was palpable before an obviously emotional and excited Joe Incandela, CMS lead scientist, took to the stage.

He had something very important to say...

Life's Little Mysteries via Discovery News: What If the New Particle Isn't the Higgs Boson?
There are subtle indications that the particle may not, in fact, be the Higgs.
Content provided by Natalie Wolchover, Lifes Little Mysteries
Fri Jul 6, 2012 07:55 AM ET

Physicists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) say they've discovered a new "Higgs-like" particle: a bundle of energy that has most of the trappings of the long-sought Higgs boson. They're not naming the newcomer outright, because there are subtle indications that the particle may not, in fact, be the plain old Higgs itself, but rather a close doppelganger.

Don't let that disappoint you. To the contrary, Harvey Newman, a high-energy physicist at the California Institute of Technology and a member of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment (one of two LHC experiments that discovered the new particle), said finding a more exotic variety of Higgs boson is actually "one of the most exciting things that can happen." Here's why.

Daily Kos: Why is it called the God Particle?
By DarkSyde

Daily Kos: Why Is There No "Higgs boson-gate?"
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Daily Kos: 15 Minute Photo Diary—4th of July Fireworks—The Higgsplosion
by palantir