Scientists find signs of Higgs Boson
It has been called "the brick that built the universe", "the angel of creation" and even "the god particle".
But until now, no one has convincingly claimed to have a glimpsed of the Higgs Boson, let alone prove that it actually exists.
The Boson is a sub-atomic particle that gives mass to everything in the Universe.
Two teams of scientists at the CERN research centre near Geneva were ready to announce they have made significant progress in spotting the particle.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) CERN DIRECTOR ROLF HEUER, SAYING:
"We still need many more collisions next year in order to get a definite answer on the Shakespeare question on the Higgs: To be or not to be. But I think I have made extremely good progress by closing in the window of the allowed mass range of the Higgs boson. And we saw some tantalizing hints today, intriguing as we just unisono told our scientific committee, so stay tuned also for next year."
Another scientist is certain they will have the answer by the end of 2012.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) CERN PHYSICIST AND ATLAS EXPERIMENT SPOKESPERSON FABIOLA GIANOTTI, SAYING:
"We have been able to restrict the most likely mass region over the last months and over the last weeks to a very narrow range, 15Gev wide, which is clearly an important achievement. And in this mass region we see some excesses of events and it's too early to tell if this excesses is due to fluctuation of the background or if it due to something more interesting. I think that only more studies and more data will allow us to answer that question. But the nice thing is that we by the end of 2012 or sooner if we are lucky we will be able to say the final word."
British physicist Peter Higgs conceived the idea of the boson in the mid-1960s.
The 82-year-old Higgs is also seen as Nobel prize contender.
Sophia Soo, Reuters.
But until now, no one has convincingly claimed to have a glimpsed of the Higgs Boson, let alone prove that it actually exists.
The Boson is a sub-atomic particle that gives mass to everything in the Universe.
Two teams of scientists at the CERN research centre near Geneva were ready to announce they have made significant progress in spotting the particle.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) CERN DIRECTOR ROLF HEUER, SAYING:
"We still need many more collisions next year in order to get a definite answer on the Shakespeare question on the Higgs: To be or not to be. But I think I have made extremely good progress by closing in the window of the allowed mass range of the Higgs boson. And we saw some tantalizing hints today, intriguing as we just unisono told our scientific committee, so stay tuned also for next year."
Another scientist is certain they will have the answer by the end of 2012.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) CERN PHYSICIST AND ATLAS EXPERIMENT SPOKESPERSON FABIOLA GIANOTTI, SAYING:
"We have been able to restrict the most likely mass region over the last months and over the last weeks to a very narrow range, 15Gev wide, which is clearly an important achievement. And in this mass region we see some excesses of events and it's too early to tell if this excesses is due to fluctuation of the background or if it due to something more interesting. I think that only more studies and more data will allow us to answer that question. But the nice thing is that we by the end of 2012 or sooner if we are lucky we will be able to say the final word."
British physicist Peter Higgs conceived the idea of the boson in the mid-1960s.
The 82-year-old Higgs is also seen as Nobel prize contender.
Sophia Soo, Reuters.