In The News

[kevinj]

It means that all those scientists who spent small fortunes on equipment can now go
"You see It was all worth it Don't you feel all silly with your petty "keep it under 2 trillion requests" now (sticks tongue out)"
And the last 5 people in the country who didn't already know will find out that Brian Cox was in D:ream.

[Daarck]

Essentially what it does is reinforce what our handsomest scientists think of how the universe works. Although someone, somewhere is already asking the question of how to weaponise it no doubt.

What it also does is rather than closing the door on the matter, it gets them to start asking follow up questions - there are still other things that we think are there, but have never seen - it's taken since 1964 for the Higgs to actually have been proven (to 99.99999% anyway) to be what and where it's supposed to be; Peter Higgs was at the anouncement with a tear in his eye and has said he never thought it would have been done in his lifetime.

It's going to be fun when they ask for a bigger collider to celebrate

[Pie Man 70]

The Higgs Bosun is pretty much expanding our knowlege of the universe, but AFAIK, so far has no practical applications to you or me.

However,

From previous CERN projects the advances they had to make to build the supercollider and record teh required data produced advances in superconductors and computing (I read somewhere that CERN were pretty much responsible for the last jump in processor power)

It's a bit like the Moon landings. We didn't get anything more valuable that advancing human exploration by going to the moon. However the things that were invented to get people to the moon have been pretty useful, Teflon is often quoted, but the programming techniques that had to be developed to run a 1960s computer that coudl fit into an Apollo spacecraft paved the way for the home computer.

And regardless of all that stuff. Its expanding our understanding of the universe as a species. Puire research is always valuable. Sadly all too often the bean counters are sitting in the wings asking what this research will produce (Which with the LHC was a genuine "Don't know, why we're researching, we hope to find a Higgs bosun") we wouldn't have half the cool gadgets of today if it wasn't for research that potentially had no marketable goal.

[runalong]

On a technical level it explains a bit more how the universe works - at the mo perhaps no practical use but just consider how the discovery of electricity has over a show period changed your life by working now on how to create/remove mass perhaps something shiny can come through and yes our understanding of particle physics will be much better wraps for atomic energies?

[The Curious Orange]

Yes, you are going to have to come back in about a hundred years to look at all the technological applications this will have led to. No one could ever have predicted a hundred years ago that Einstein's theories would lead to computers, pacemakers, blu-ray players and laser eye surgery.

Think of this as being like a jigsaw, and the Higgs boson as the final missing piece. Now we have to put the whole thing together, and only then will we see what the finished picture is.

[Tim The Enchanter]

Thanks all, that's clearer for now - guess I'll have to wait for my hovercar then.

[darkman]

Frank Ocean comes out: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1649079.html. I actually think that it's cool that we have finally gotten to the poin were a popular rap group can have two openly gay members.

[Wee Little Puppet Man]

Ron Perlman visits Make-a-Wish child as Hellboy.

Awww!!! What a guy!

What. A. Guy!

[Australis]

Terribly, terribly sad news today - Jon Lord (Deep Purple) has passed away.

Great, great muso. I'll miss him and his towering skill a lot.

[kevinj]

Theres a rumour that they found a body on the cycle path to Linwood but there is no mention in the news, almost getting to be a suspicious death every other month round here.