CERN to make an announcement regarding the Higgs on July 4.

Post Reply New Topic

I await the press conference with baited breath.

Do you know where one can access this press conference in America? Is it streamed via the Internet?

http://webcast.web.cern.ch/webcast/

Thanks

! !! I can't wait. Too bad I can't watch the live broadcast

This will not be the last word on the matter. The entire experiment will be reviewed by the physics community to see if there are any flaws in the experiment and measurement itself.

Do you recall the recent OPERA flap, the finding that presumably showed neutrinos go faster than light speed? It turned out there was a defect in the equipment and the claim has been rescinded.

Do do not jump to any conclusions until the finding is vetted by the physics community.

ruveyn

Last edited by ruveyn on 03 Jul 2012, 10:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Damn I'd forgotten about the neutrinos thing. A fluke then?

And July 4! That's tomorrow!

then again even CERN gave the same message as you when they first announced it, not that i disagree, simply saying i think they know so perfectly well themselves.

im thinking they narrowed the search, the previous times that happened they made press releases about it.

well said

That is why important experimental findings are carefully studied and vetted by individuals not involved in the experiment under question. This protocol may reveal an error not noticed by the originating group and will tend to eliminate observer bias.

That is why science works, where as sociology, politics, economics and philosophy are abject failures.

ruveyn

Slave, how did I know you would be right on top of this? I just sent you a PM on this topic via google btw... Something like "Yay! Higgs"


I tried to explain how neat this was to the boyfriend, he just shrugged his shoulders.....

Not finding the higgs does not mean they failed, another theory could be more valid, if there is no mix of particles that add up to gravity then maybe its a system that does not function unless its whole? Could empty space repel matter and be cumulative? I hope it adds up to antigravity

Exciting stuff. If we can predict something so specific, and it turns out to be true, we can really feel confident in modern particle physics. It's like when that guy impressed everyone by predicting a slight deviation in the path of a planet which hadn't happened yet.

I really hope they didn't make any mistakes this time. It would be truly great if they found it. The funny thing is that I had a conversation with my mother yesterday and I stated that the Higgs boson would probably always be a theoretical particle.

the statistical consitency certainly looks impressive at first glance

Argh, don't say things like that. You'll make me go on a philosophy of science rant.

Long story short: the distinction between "theoretical object" and "really existing object" does not actually make sense. All that exists are predictions and confirmations of predictions. Another way to put it is that every purported object is only theoretical. If you claim that your pet cat really exists, you are merely inferring that the cat exists because your theory that your pet cat exists makes predictions which are confirmed by your experience. It's just the same with theoretical particles.

The Higgs boson is a particle that featured in the standard theory of particle physics. This theory's predictions had previously always come true, so the Higgs boson was already a perfectly reasonable and "real" part of the theory. Now what might have just happened is that the theory in which it plays a part has not been falsified. It's still just as "real" as it ever was, which is to say that it is still just as "real" as any purported object in science ever is, which is to say that it is an object which features in a theory whose predictions have so far always come true.