Higgs Particle

Another article that I found very interesting was an article in the National Geographic called "The God Particle." This article was talking about smashing pieces of matter together in order to create some energies and temperatures "not seen since the universe's earliest moments." The particle was called the Higgs boson (or particle), also known as the God particle Scientist believed that this could help to reveal the particles and forces that "wrote the rules for everything that followed." But at the same time, the scientist didn't really know what would actually happen if they could pull it off.

This article was very enjoyable to read. There were a few parts that kind of confused me, but the subject is a very complicated subject to discuss so I expected that to happen. The points the writer brought up were very good point. For example, he said most people are afraid that this project could create something like a black hole, something you might see on a sci-fi movie. The writer said that these wasn't something the scientist actually feared. I also really liked the scientific history that he gave. The writer also had a wonderful sense of humor to his article. An example is, "the Higgs particle would be the carrier of the field and would interact with other particles, sort of the way a Jedi knight in Star Wars is the carrier of the 'force.'"


Some quotes that I liked were: "...and its purpose is simple but ambitious: to crack the code of the physical world; to figure out what the universe is made of; in other words, to get to the very bottom of things.", "That's the essence of experimental particle physics: You smash stuff together and see what other stuff comes out.", "'Bigger is better if you're searching for smaller' could be the motto at the European Organization for Nuclear Research...", "This is because a century of particle physics has given us a fundamental truth: Reality doesn't reveal its secrets easily.", "Put it this way: The universe is a tough nut to crack.", "...the Higgs particle would be the carrier of the field and would interact with other particles, sort of the way a Jedi knight in Star Wars is the carrier of the 'force.'", "Building a contraption like the LHC to find the Higgs is a bit like embarking on a career as a stand-up comic with the hope that at some point in your career you'll happen to blurt out a joke that's not only side-splittingly funny but also a palindrome."
"Naturally the moniker took root among journalists, who know a good name for a particle when they hear one (it beats the heck out of the muon or the Z-boson)."

Web site: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/03/god-particle/achenbach-text/4