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Physicists love the Higgs boson , but they hate the God particle .
Theelusive Higgs particle , which scientists at the Large Hadron Collider ( LHC ) particle accelerator harbinger Tuesday ( Dec. 13 ) that they are shut down in on , is popularly bang as the " God corpuscle . "
Particle tracks from a proton-proton collision (also called an event) in the ATLAS experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Events like this are a possible sign of the Higgs particle, though many events must be analyzed together to say with confidence the signal came from the elusive particle.
The nickname , beloved by the press , is almost universally disdain byexperts who study particle physics .
" I detestthe name ' God particle , ' " Vivek Sharma , a physicist at the University of California , San Diego , and the drawing card of the Higgs search at LHC ’s CMS experiment , wrote in an electronic mail . " I am not especially spiritual , but I line up the term an ' in your face ' affront to those who [ are ] . I do experimental physics not GOD . "
Other physicist vehemently agree . [ drift : Search for the Higgs Boson ]
" It ’s an awful name , " Michio Kaku , a theoretical physicist at the City College of New York , told LiveScience . " It does not convey the corpuscle ’s honest theatrical role , that it is the last missing piece of the Standard Model , and that it ease up mass to the other particles . "
Some physicists said a new cognomen may be in order . They , along with LiveScience ’s Facebook fans , have offered up idea , which set out from " masson " and " OOM " like the Buddhist chant , to " Super Cool Non - Denominational Particle . " Of course , others think " Higgs boson " works just fine .
Origin of the term
The Standard Model is the cathartic theory that describes nature ’s bantam building blocks . Every atom included in the theory , except forthe Higgs boson , has been detected through an experiment .
On Tuesday , LHC physicists at the CERN testing ground in Geneva , Switzerland , report their later findings in the hunt for the Higgs , which indicate some preliminary hints that it is being create inside the speck smasher . The particle is imagine to be relate with a field that is responsible for give other atom their lot .
Much of the media reporting of the announcement included the term " God atom , " which originated in the championship of a 1994 book by Nobel - winning physicist Leon Lederman . The chronicle goes that Lederman originally wanted to name the tome " The Goddamn Particle " because of how difficult it was to discover , but was persuade by his publisher , Delta , to contract it .
" It ’s a pity that Leon Lederman , otherwise a nice enough fellow , take to go ahead with this moniker at the advice of his publishing agent to sell more volume , " Sharma said .
However , ever since the playscript came out , the Higgs boson has n’t been able to scarper the nickname , at least in pop discussion .
" I experience the condition ' God subatomic particle , ' invent by a publisher to trade books and make money , insultingly fudge both skill and religious belief , " Rutgers University physicist Matt Strassler wrote in an email .
blasphemous
Many of the strongest objections to the name number because of its spiritual bent .
The name " carries almost no entropy about why the Higgs particle is authoritative , it makes physicist sound pontifical and arrogant , and it reinforce a very harmful presumption that physicist are trying to replace or vie with ' God , ' " New York University physicist Kyle Cranmer wrote in an email to LiveScience . " In reality , physicists brood the full image from devotee to atheist . Physicists are in the main driven to understand how nature act — as ' natural philosophers ' we appreciate the ravisher of its guild and its pandemonium , perhaps more than most . "
And ultimately , research worker say the terminus " God particle " but does n’t fit the Higgs boson ’s actual characteristics .
" ' God particle ' is a bad name , in every way , " wrote University of Michigan physicist Gordon Kane . " It has nothing to do with the aperient . Most ( all ? ) physicists dislike it . "
However , hatred of the term is n’t general .
" It ’s a tricky name , so why not ? :) " wrote Brown University physicist Greg Landsberg .
A new name ?
In lieu of such a controversial nickname , many physicist did n’t hesitate to propose alternative suggestions for a popular recording label .
" One possibility is the OOM subatomic particle ( after the Buddhistic chant , that is imagine to take you to Nirvana ) , " offered Kaku . " OOM for Origin of Mass particle . "
Others also focus on the Higgs ' part in bestowing mass .
" Why not the ' aggregative corpuscle ? ' " suggest Boston University physicist Lawrence Sulak . " Or since it is a bosON , like the photON or the gluON , it could be called the ' masson . ' Let your mental imagery go tempestuous , ' stickyon , ' ' inertiaon , ' ' weighton . ' "
But many physicists express their atonement with the dewy-eyed term " Higgs boson , " after Peter Higgs , the leader of the mathematical group that first theorized the particle in 1964 .
" It is all very well for us to bemoan the ' God Particle ' and say how much better the ' thumping space kablouie ' is than the ' big bang , ' but I do n’t retrieve we will find better words than the ' Higgs boson , ' " say CERN physicist William Murray .
Perhaps all the " Higgs boson " terminal figure needs is a friendly adjective or two around it . Strassler aim referring to the subatomic particle as " the evanescent yet essential Higgs boson . "
LiveScience readers also offered a fountain of good ideasvia Facebook , including the " Vague Existo Particle " from Scott Dunn , the " Super Cool Non - Denominational Particle " from Amanda Callaghan , or the " Shy Particle , '' since it ’s so knockout to find , from Jitesh Ahuja .
Or , a raw moniker could make a nod to the $ 10 billion price ticket of the LHC .
" perhaps we should call it the " Billion " to remind us how much it be to see the damn thing :-) " Cranmer compose .
