There is exciting news today, which I read about on the Internet. Apparently scientists in Great Britain have finally found the Higgs boson. (I know, I could hardly believe it either.) The boson, which I think is far smaller than a bison, was named after a physicist named Higgs who has been searching for it most of his life. If his name were Goldblatt it would be called the Goldblatt boson, so thank goodness for that. Anyway, it is no less than a particle that holds the entire universe together! I'm not sure why it isn't called the Higgs particle since the words seem interchangeable, but as my sister-in-law would say, "there you have it."Without the boson, the universe would be the consistency of Campbell's Tomato Soup, or actually any soup, that one just popped into my mind. It was my favorite when I was growing up, although I always had a hard time deciding whether I preferred the plain kind or the Cream of Tomato--they were both quite yummy. This chap Higgs is now 83 and is very happy the boson has been found while he is still alive. He is quoted as saying that he will ask his family to put some champagne in the fridge. (One wonders why he can't get it himself.)
FYI, before you start celebrating, you should know that one scientist involved in the research admitted that it was not a done deal. He clarified, "It is very much a smoking duck that walks and quacks like the Higgs. But we now have to open it up and look inside before we can say that it is indeed the Higgs."
They seem pretty solid on the "maybe's" and "we-think's", so it's a definite major scientific discovery.
ReplyDeleteNow the only thing left is the mystery of the early bird!!!
ReplyDeleteit's the smoking duck I am interested in......can you explain that phrase???
ReplyDeleteI was also confused. I thought it was a smoking gun, and that the only smoked duck was edible.
ReplyDelete"It is very much a smoking duck that walks and quacks like the Higgs." But if we've never seen a Higgs, how can we know that the duck quacks like one?
ReplyDeleteAnd if the poor duck is a smoker (like me) I'm not sure how healthy this universe can be.
Tedinski
Great observation, Tedinski! And please, quit the cigarettes! I finally stopped six years ago after smoking for nearly 40 years. You will never regret it.
DeleteHaha! Thanks, Andrea!
DeleteI've been working on quitting for a while now. I experience no enjoyment from smoking, like I did when younger... it's an addiction to be assuaged, and nothing else.
Getting down to a half pack a day isn't difficult, anything less seems to be torture!
Tedinski