Higgs Boson: Evidence Excites Scientific Community
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ReActions
Volume 26 • April/May 2013
Higgs Boson:
Evidence Excites Scientific Community
On March 14, 2013, researchers at CERN made the public announcement that data
collected in 2012 has provided evidence to support their belief that they had found the
long-sought Higgs boson. First theorized by a group of physicists in 1964, the Higgs
boson (nicknamed by some as the “God particle”) has been the subject of research for
many years – in many places. Identification of the Higgs boson is likely to stand as one of
the great scientific achievements of the 21st century. Even members of the general public
who are not involved in sci-
entific disciplines have shown
interest and enthusiasm.
The Standard Model, which
describes how the universe
works and is constructed,
has lacked a way explain
how the various particles
gain their mass. Identifying
the Higgs boson is a step
toward providing that
explanation. It is thought
that the Higgs boson inter-
acts with a “field” permeating
the Universe in a way that
gives mass to particles.
What researchers at the
Large Hadron Collider have
been doing is generating two
Credit: CERN beams of protons, moving at
extremely high speeds and
A typical candidate event including in opposite directions. Then,
two high-energy photons whose by causing collisions between the particles in
energy (depicted by red towers) is these two beams, researchers are able gather
measured in the CMS electromag- data about the resulting shower of high energy
netic calorimeter. The yellow lines
particles. A Higgs boson is anticipated as one
are the measured tracks of other
particles produced in the collision. of the particles. Several detectors are utilized
The pale blue volume shows the to gather data about the particles, which may
CMS crystal calorimeter barrel. exist only briefly.
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What is CERN?
• http://www.cern.ch
What is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)?
• http://home.web.cern.ch/about/accelerators/large-hadron-collider
The US and the LHC
• http://www.uslhc.us/
What is the Higgs boson?
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16116236
• http://science.howstuffworks.com/higgs-boson.htm
• http://science.howstuffworks.com/higgs-boson1.htm
• http://science.howstuffworks.com/higgs-boson2.htm
• http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57574286-76/cern-physicists-now-
pretty-sure-theyve-found-higgs-boson/
Why does the Higgs boson matter?
• http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57574534/god-particle-why-
the-higgs-boson-matters/
Should the Higgs boson be renamed?
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22250092
Does the discovery spell doom for the universe?
• http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-the-higgs-boson-
might-spell-doom-for-the-universe
Who is Peter Higgs?
• http://www.ph.ed.ac.uk/higgs/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Higgs
Peter Higgs in his own words
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22073084
Peter Higgs: Behind the Scenes
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22073080
VIDEOS:
The “Standard Model” of Physics
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0KjXsGRvoA
The Higgs Boson Explained on NASA site
• http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120501.html
Peter Higgs at the Announcement
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22079000
ANS Nuclear Café – Higgs Boson Explained
• http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2012/07/06/friday-nuclear-mati-
nee-the-higgs-boson-explained/
ANS Nuclear Café – What is Mass? How to Discover a Particle?
• http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2012/07/27/nuclear-matinee-7-27-2012/
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Space Probe Data Suggests Universe is Older
than Previously Thought
Estimates of the age of our universe have been extended by 80 million years based on
evidence gathered by the European Space Agency’s Planck space probe. In addition,
the probe’s observations seem to support an idea called inflation – that only a frac-
tion of a second was required for the expansion of the universe from subatomic size
to its observable size.
The probe’s telescope
was mapping the sky,
searching for what
have been called
“light” fossils – left
over from the Big
Bang – by looking at
background radia-
tion. Some scientists
have suggested that
the importance of the
probe and its findings
compare to
the importance of
work by other re-
searchers who recently
Credit: ESA and the Planck Collaboration
announced evidence of
the Higgs boson.
Cosmic Microwave Background
(CMB) as observed by Planck space
probe. The CMB is a snapshot of
the oldest light in our Universe,
imprinted on the sky when the Uni-
verse was just 380,000 years old. It
shows tiny temperature fluctuations Images and Information from
that correspond to regions of slightly European Space Agency
different densities, representing the
• http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/ob-
seeds of all future structure: the
stars and galaxies of today. ject/index.cfm?fobjectid=51551
Article in General Media
• http://news.yahoo.com/universe-ag-
es-80m-years-big-bang-gets-clear-
er-111323707.html
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The Search for Dark Matter
Suppose you discovered a kind of matter that cannot be seen by telescopes and
neither emits nor absorbs light, yet this discovery accounted for a large part of the
mass of our universe. And, suppose the material you discovered interacted with other
materials only through its gravity. If you made that discovery, you would have found
something that has been hypothesized by astronomers and cosmologists. You would
have dark matter.
That’s right! Dark matter has been hypothesized. And, scientists are doing research
to find some evidence for its existence. Knowing more about it might help explain
how galaxies are formed.
A recent story on the internet bore the headline “Hints of Dark Matter Possibly
Seen.” The article carried information about results from the Super Cryogenic Dark
Matter Search (SuperCDMS) be-
ing conducted in an underground
laboratory in Minnesota at the
Soudan mine. In three instances, Dark Matter Signals?
the experimenters detected events • http://www.scientificamerican.com/
which might suggest the presence article.cfm?id=dark-matter-sig-
of a WIMP (weakly interactive nals-recorded-in-minnesota-mine
massive particle). A WIMP might
Soudan Mine Tour
help explain dark matter.
• http://www.physics.umn.edu/out-
But the experimenters are cau- reach/soudan/tour
tious. They say they have not made Soudan Underground Laboratory
a discovery, suggesting only that • http://www.soudan.umn.edu/
this suggests an experimental “re-
gion of interest.” Historical Tour – Soudan Mine
• http://www.towersoudan.com/souda-
nundergroundmine.htmlReActions
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ANS Offers Teacher Workshops –
Register Now
Would you like to learn some new activities to use in teaching about
atomic structure and nuclear science and technology? Consider
attending an ANS teacher workshop, DETECTING RADIATION IN
OUR RADIOACTIVE WORLD.
ANS will conduct full-day workshops in Atlanta, GA, on Saturday,
June 15, and in Washington, DC, on Saturday, November 9. Attend-
ees at both workshops will partic-
ipate in hands-on activities, hear
knowledgeable speakers, and receive
a variety of materials along with an
analog radiation monitor for class-
room demonstrations.
Registration is now open for the June
workshop. Those who register by
May 15 will realize a significant saving.
Information and on-line registration is
available at http://www.new.ans.org/
pi/edu/teachers/workshops/
Are There Still More Particles?
As exciting as recent discoveries about the nature of matter have
been, some scientists are eager for further exploration. They hope
for even more exciting discoveries.
Read some thoughts about what may remain to be discovered.
http://www.livescience.com/27903-other-particles-beyond-higgs.htmlReActions
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Three Different Projects:
Something in Common
Three different sets of researchers are involved in the
new discoveries and experiments covered in this issue
of ReActions.
The massive effort to achieve evidence of the Higgs
boson has provided the exciting announcement of
March 14, 2013. Ongoing work to learn about elusive
dark matter is providing only an initial hint of its
existence. The ESA’s Planck space probe results in new
information about the universe and its origins.
All three projects continue to seek new and exciting infor-
mation about the world in which we live – its origins, its
structure and how everything interacts.
Humankind has incredible curiosity. We are continu-
ally pressing forward for more information. Some of
your students will eventually be among the scientists
pursuing the next great discoveries. They must be
prepared with knowledge of a wide variety of scientific
information and the processes used to gather information.
Your challenge is immense and exciting! We hope that the
materials in this issue of ReActions help you along the way.
National Nuclear Science Week
October 21-25, 2013
For more information visit
http://www.nuclearscienceweek.org/ReActions
7
Please make your colleagues aware of ReActions
and encourage them to sign up for email notification
of our next issue by going to
http://Reactions.ans.org
ACTIVITY:
Challenge your students to do some research on terms and discoveries men-
tioned in this issue of ReActions, using the internet. Ask them to find answers
to questions such as these:
• What is the Higgs boson and why is its discovery important?
• What is dark matter and why is research into it important?
• What is meant by the Standard Model?
• Is there a video to help explain the Standard Model?
• Why are experiments to learn about dark matter located underground?
Of course, you may create other challenging questions.
OR
You may simply ask students to learn the meaning of some key words, such as:
• Boson • Big Bang • CERN
• Higgs Boson • Standard Model • Cosmology
• Dark Matter • Large Hadron collider • Astrophysics
Of course, you can always expand the list.
Your purpose with an activity such as this is to get beyond learning new words.
Use their research work as the basis for a classroom discussion. Ask them to
share what they found (including videos) and to explain what it means.
You will be working to help students understand a bit about research being
done by a huge number of scientists. And, you will be providing your students
with the challenge to see why this work is of importance.
©2013 American Nuclear Society. ReActions — teachers may reproduce portions of the newsletter for
classroom use or filing; in other uses, please credit ReActions and the American Nuclear Society.
ANS was founded in 1954 as a nonprofit, international scientific and educational organization. Its
members are scientists, engineers, and educators working in government, academia and industry.
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