As I mentioned previously, my last two years have been spent wandering the abstract and often bizarre halls of theoretical physics. Although I don't plan to devote all my writing to this topic, it will be the general theme of this blog. There are also a number of physics related topics currently on my mind. It seems fitting though that I should begin with the great multi-billion dollar search for the elusive Higgs particle.
There is a great deal of excitement being generated in the physics world by the anticipated activation of the Large Hadron Collider, which is supposed to come online sometime later this year. Most of that excitement revolves around the idea of finding the Higgs particle, which, along with its field, supposedly explains the origin of particle mass. The hype for this possible achievement has leaked into the mainstream in increasingly grandiose terms. Just to highlight this, there was a book written about the Higgs particle for popular consumption entitled "The God Particle."
Now say what you will about the possible importance of the Higgs particle, but I've noticed that a lot of physicists like to use religious terminology when talking about the frontiers of their field. I have to admit that the religious allegories that have been attached to some scientific pursuits has made me a bit uneasy. The popular nomenclature of the Higgs particle isn't even the worst of it. The goal sought by theoretical physicists and embodied most popularly by string theory is to create a consistent theory that takes into account all the major forces. The search for a Unified Field Theory has been called has been described as the "holy grail" of physics by prominent researchers in the field. The mystification of the development of a unified field theory seems contrary to the ideals of rigorous science, which after all is meant to explain rather then obfuscate the workings of nature.
In any event, the construction of the LHC on the boarder of France and Switzerland represents the next major leg of the journey to an eventual unifying theory. I think that some physicists realize that despite its hype, the Higgs particle is actually just a placeholder for physics at the edge of the standard model and beyond. Personally, the Higgs particle seems to be the keystone that prevents the standard model from collapsing in on itself. However, since it is generally agreed that the standard model is not the last word in theoretical physics it seems likely that if something were going to be wrong with it, Higgs theory is the most likely culprit. Regardless, it seems unlikely that a theory can explain a key concept like mass without also providing some insight into the nature gravitation. But then again, what do I know?
The 14 TeV energy will hopefully be enough to flush out a quanta of the Higgs field if it exists and even possibly a low energy supersymetric particle (although I find this extremely unlikely). What seems most probable to me is that new and as so far unpredicted physics govern this level of energy and will delay the project, as the limits of modern engineering are tested. I expect that the difficulty of the technical challenges involved, as engineers attempt to focus and optimise the proton beams, will increase dramatically.
It's hard to believe that the LHC will actually be running experiments by this summer. I am curious as to how operational the accelerator will be by the ceremonial opening event scheduled for October and am glad that I am not in charge of designating those dates. Anyway I will try to keep up to date on its progress in further posts and perhaps make some inroad with the people working on the project. For now I wish them well and hope that I am wrong about the probability of delays.
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