Surprising Science — July 27, 2010

Finding the God Particle

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An Illinois particle accelerator is helping to determine the range in which the Higgs boson, a.k.a. “God particle” exists. The special particle is thought to give mass to other elementary particles. “The most intensive particle hunt in the history of physics goes on. Over the last decade physicists working on two separate experiments at Fermilab have combed the debris from a thousand trillion (1 with 15 zeros) collisions of protons and anti-protons looking for signs of the Higgs boson, which is said to be responsible for imbuing some other elementary particles with mass.”

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

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