Physicist find key to the universe

Scientists in Geneva on Wednesday applauded the discovery of a subatomic particle that looks like the Higgs boson.

The Higgs boson, if the standard theory proves correct, is the heaviest element in existence (as far as we know). This cosmic “molasses” weighs down the tiny particles that make up atoms, giving them substance. Without the Higgs boson, the universe would most likely be a kind of cosmic “soup” where particles zip around, absent any substantial form. The discovery of the Higgs boson particle is to physics what Darwin’s theory of evolution was to biology. That means it’s a very big deal.
for those of you who do not know what the big deal is about a the discover of a new particle is,let me break it down to you in simpler terms according to Dr Burton DeWilde:Imagine a room full of physicists. Suddenly Einstein enters and attempts to cross the room, but the star-struck physicists cluster around him and impede his movements, effectively increasing his mass. Now imagine that I enter the room. As a lowly grad student, nobody wants to interact with me, so I pass through the physicists relatively unimpeded—no effective mass for me! Lastly, imagine that somebody whispers a rumor, causing the physicists to cluster together excitedly on their own.

In this analogy, the room full of physicists represents the Higgs field in space, Einstein represents a particle with high mass, I represent a particle with low mass (or no mass), and a cluster of physicists represents an excitation of the field, which is effectively a Higgs boson.

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