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Rolf Heuer, the director of the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) stated on Wednesday, July 4, 2012, that, "We have a discovery [that is] consistent with a Higgs boson." Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have been searching for the Higgs.
However, Heuer does not come out and flatly state that they discovered the God particle, only that they have discovered a particle that is "consistent" with the characteristics of a Higgs boson.
There is a big difference between saying (1) you've observed the Higgs boson and saying (2) you saw a particle that has every indication that it is the Higgs boson.
Now, from all indications of these CERN scientists, they have indeed discovered the Higgs boson, but there are still months ahead of them in verifying this discovery before a final victory dance can be performed.
So, what is the Higgs boson? Scientists believe this tiny little particle is what gives all matter in the universe its mass, shape, and size. Pretty big deal, wouldn't you say, for a little guy like the Higgs boson. No wonder it is called the God particle!
To learn more about the Higgs boson (the God particle) -- and it's understandable because the physicist talks about it very simply -- please go to the Guardian.co.uk article/video: "What is the Higgs boson? - video"
And learn more about this discovery at the Nature article "Physicists find new particle, but is it the Higgs?"
The article states, "Even as rumours fly in the popular media, physicists have begun quietly cheering at CERN, the European particle-physics lab near Geneva in Switzerland. “Without a doubt, we have a discovery,” says one member of the team working on the ATLAS experiment, who wished to remain anonymous. “It is pure elation!”
