12°c Rain showers
8°c Light rain
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Canadians help snag elusive 'God particle'
VANCOUVER -- Canuck brain power is being lauded for helping find a missing link towards explaining life, the universe and everything else as researchers reveal the discovery of the so-called "God particle."
About 150 Canadians are part of an international network whose research helped to discover the new subatomic particle the community believes could very well be the crucial Higgs boson particle, announced this week in Geneva.
"It's a huge Canadian success story," said particle physicist Isabel Trigger, one of the team leaders with the TRIUMF particle and nuclear physics lab based in Vancouver.
"All of these people have spent 20 years of their lives building something which now has found the particle we were looking for... If it's not the Higgs boson, it sure looks like the Higgs boson," Trigger said Thursday.
The particle is one of the smallest units of matter, which experts say is the key to understanding why matter has mass.
Canadians based at TRIUMF built several large pieces of a particle detector named ATLAS -- the giant machine observing the atom smashing experiment that ultimately revealed what could be the elusive building block. The work evolved from construction, through assembly, installation and calibration.
ATLAS, which operates inside the renowned Large Hadron Collider, run by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, generated millions of gigabytes of data each year, which was then distributed amongst about 137 countries for analysis.
Several elated researchers who worked on the project and dozens more excited students congregated at TRIUMF to discuss the findings over colourful schematics and videos depicting the reactions occurring inside the particle detector's belly.
A large whiteboard displayed the master equation describing the Standard Model of Physics, with the previously only theorized Higgs boson portion scrawled in striking blue ink.
Michelle Boudreau, a graduate student at Simon Fraser University, said she was blown away by the big news.
"Being a physicist, you hear about everything being discovered so long ago," she said. "For something completely new to be discovered is awesome -- exciting times."
-- The Canadian Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 5, 2012 A7
More Canada
- Back to Top
- Return to Canada
More Canada
(1 of 50 articles for this week)
New Brunswick village begins to heal after bodies of fishermen recovered
11:55 AM 0TABUSINTAC, NEW BRUNSWICK, - A local leader in northeastern New Brunswick says the community can begin to heal now that ...
Poll
Most Popular Canada
- Prominent Canadians back petition to rename Victoria Day to honour aboriginals
- Harper to be on hot seat at Tuesday caucus after chief of staff quits
- A look at the life and career of Ray Novak, prime minister's new chief of staff
- B.C. NDP's 24-hour bus ride goes beyond Hope and crashes on election night
- Harper's body to lie in state today
- Ford should directly address allegations of drug use in video scandal: expert
- Anarchist 'panda' leads a new fight in Montreal: this one's against tickets
- Canadian troops in Kandahar to assess safety of stranded equipment containers
- Tirades won't stop global warming: Harper
- Harper government buying ads to promote job grant program that doesn't yet exist
- First-degree murder charge to be laid in test drive death; remains badly burned
- Crack-cocaine video allegations 'ridiculous,' Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says
- Duffy bailout by Harper's chief of staff prompts allegations of coverup by PMO
- Harper to be on hot seat at Tuesday caucus after chief of staff quits
- Duffy quits Conservative caucus over expenses as colleagues began turning on him
- Prominent Canadians back petition to rename Victoria Day to honour aboriginals
- Liberals blaze to stunning B.C. victory, but Clark loses own seat
- Quake near Ottawa rattles residents across wide swath of Ontario, Quebec
- Sen. Pamela Wallin, target of expense audit, latest to leave Conservative caucus
- A look at the life and career of Ray Novak, prime minister's new chief of staff
- First-degree murder charge to be laid in test drive death; remains badly burned
- Multiple fatalities after serious crash near U.S. border
- Canadian tourist dies after falling from hotel in Mexican resort
- Crack-cocaine video allegations 'ridiculous,' Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says
- Engineer charged in mall collapse
- Arrest made in case of Hamilton, Ont., man missing after pickup truck test drive
- Leaving Saskatoon: police mourn homeless drunk they considered a friend
- Man with no arms plans to fight seatbelt ticket, wants apology from police
- Suspects arrested in Via train terror plot linked to al-Qaida in Iran: RCMP
- Duffy bailout by Harper's chief of staff prompts allegations of coverup by PMO
- Prominent Canadians back petition to rename Victoria Day to honour aboriginals
- AECL still a money-loser: watchdog
- Quake shakes Ontario, Quebec
- Harper government buying ads to promote job grant program that doesn't yet exist
- Harper to be on hot seat at Tuesday caucus after chief of staff quits
- U.S. bill would give Canadian snowbirds more time to spend in the sun
- Prominent Canadians back petition to rename Victoria Day to honour aboriginals
- Duffy bailout by Harper's chief of staff prompts allegations of coverup by PMO
- First-degree murder charge to be laid in test drive death; remains badly burned
- Search on for living creatures far beneath Canadian Shield
- Quake near Ottawa rattles residents across wide swath of Ontario, Quebec
- 'Not looking for blame,' grieving father says of fatal rugby tackle
- Federal Court to test expedited hearings for some visa-rejection reviews
- Conservative senator Duffy claimed expenses while campaigning in 2011 election
- Grade 5 kids urge Harper to drop mean attack ads against Justin Trudeau
- U.S. bill would give Canadian snowbirds more time to spend in the sun
- Foul fascination: Edmonton plant beautiful, but stinks like diapers, dead animals
- 'Revenge of the redheads': Ginger-haired Montrealers gather in celebration
- Man with no arms plans to fight seatbelt ticket, wants apology from police
- Suspects arrested in Via train terror plot linked to al-Qaida in Iran: RCMP
- Leaving Saskatoon: police mourn homeless drunk they considered a friend
- Prominent Canadians back petition to rename Victoria Day to honour aboriginals
- Commanding officer of Canadian Forces base in Alberta charged with sex assault
- Duffy bailout by Harper's chief of staff prompts allegations of coverup by PMO
- Engineer charged in mall collapse
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.