What Does This Mean?

I've been trying to keep the subject matter of this blog as close to music as I can. However, I have an interest in a great many things. One of those things is science, physics in particular. Last week, scientists at The Large Hadron Collider at CERN, in Bern Switzerland announced that they had discovered a particle which they believe to be the Higgs Boson.

The Higgs Boson is an elementary subatomic particle first theorized in the 1960s by Peter Higgs, who believed that all of space is permeated by as yet to be discovered field. Matter and energy particles passing through this field encounter the Higss Boson and are slowed down by the interaction. This results in the acquisition of mass by the passing particles.

Most of us are familiar with three of the basic subatomic particles such as the proton, electron, and the neutron. These particles and many others are what make up our physical reality. How these particles interact is what make our world appear and function as it does. For years, scientists have been looking for the one particle that they believe to be responsible for the interactions of all the other particles. The discovery of such a particle would not only explain how and why some particles have mass, but also it would deepen mans understanding of how the universe really works.

While it's still too early to say just what this will mean for humanity, some are already saying that light speed travel may one day be possible by the ability to un-mass particles. Switching off the Higgs may allow for extremely large objects to be launched into space. The implications of having actually found the Higgs are fantastic at best.

Because the discovery is so new, it is likely that the profound nature of this discover will be lost on most of us, to say the least. Some physicists such as Dr. Steven Hawking have been doubtful as to the Higgs existence. He made a $100 bet that it would never be found.  As an amateur when it comes to physics, I had my doubts that such a particle existed. My reason was not so much a lack of understanding as it had been my belief that such a particle was purely an attempt to quantify space/time. However, in the past several years , I had come to believe that there has to be another kind of field that allows for the seemingly instantaneous communication between particles of a quantum entangled system, which is the subject for another blog post all it's own.

This is a very proud moment for Dr. Higgs. He didn't believe that this discovery would be made in his lifetime. He and all of his colleagues at CERN should be congratulated. If their findings hold true, mankind may be on the eve a  new paradigm. For now, I think we should all keep a watchful eye and our ears tuned in to find out more about just what this means.