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n2doc

(47,953 posts)
Sat Sep 6, 2014, 05:00 PM Sep 2014

Mother of Higgs boson found in superconductors

by Michael Slezak
A weird theoretical cousin of the Higgs boson, one that inspired the decades-long hunt for the elusive particle, has been properly observed for the first time. The discovery bookends one of the most exciting eras in modern physics.

The Higgs field, which gives rise to its namesake boson, is credited with giving other particles mass by slowing their movement through the vacuum of space. First proposed in the 1960s, the particle finally appeared at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland, in 2012, and some of the theorists behind it received the 2013 Nobel prize in physics.

But the idea was actually borrowed from the behaviour of photons in superconductors, metals that, when cooled to very low temperatures, allow electrons to move without resistance.

Near zero degrees kelvin, vibrations are set up in the superconducting material that slow down pairs of photons travelling through, making light act as though it has a mass.

This effect is closely linked to the idea of the Higgs – "the mother of it actually," says Raymond Volkas at the University of Melbourne in Australia.

more
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26158-mother-of-higgs-boson-found-in-superconductors.html

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Mother of Higgs boson found in superconductors (Original Post) n2doc Sep 2014 OP
Are they gonna call it Jackpine Radical Sep 2014 #1
are they calling Higgs boson "jesus"? Voice for Peace Sep 2014 #2
"Hail Mary, mother of God…" Jackpine Radical Sep 2014 #6
aha.. d'oh! Voice for Peace Sep 2014 #8
Usually, the chicken comes BEFORE the egg...or maybe, the egg hatches into the chicken? Demeter Sep 2014 #4
Nice! Phlem Sep 2014 #3
You mean, for good or for entertainment? jmowreader Sep 2014 #5
Nice. Phlem Sep 2014 #7
Man why have i not heard about this apart from here? Jovi-Balani Sep 2014 #9
 

Voice for Peace

(13,141 posts)
2. are they calling Higgs boson "jesus"?
Sat Sep 6, 2014, 07:18 PM
Sep 2014

dammit I have already forgotten the punctuation rules for quotation marks.

 

Demeter

(85,373 posts)
4. Usually, the chicken comes BEFORE the egg...or maybe, the egg hatches into the chicken?
Sat Sep 6, 2014, 07:52 PM
Sep 2014

This is why I stick to practical applications (engineering). Physicists are just too weird for words.

Phlem

(6,323 posts)
3. Nice!
Sat Sep 6, 2014, 07:51 PM
Sep 2014

How could one exploit this? Could it mean super conductors at room temperature eventually?

must know more.

jmowreader

(50,557 posts)
5. You mean, for good or for entertainment?
Sat Sep 6, 2014, 08:54 PM
Sep 2014

Exploiting it for the good of mankind I don't know, but if you tell your fundy neighbor the Higgs is the wax on the seventh seal and he needs to get to Jerusalem right now, you can buy his car REAL cheap.

Jovi-Balani

(14 posts)
9. Man why have i not heard about this apart from here?
Sun Sep 7, 2014, 11:21 PM
Sep 2014

This is so amazing - and its a little annoying how the world doesnt recognise these massive leaps in discovery for science unless it can be 'exploited' somehow. its just amazing to know how our world works for the sake of i think.

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