Ecco ciņ che ho trovato in merito alla notizia data dal TG3 Lazio il primo novembre 2000.
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Physicists may have seen Higgs particle
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CERN
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
The Associated Press
GENEVA (November 3, 2000 11:17 a.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - Scientists looking for a basic element in the
structure of the universe Friday examined evidence that they may
have glimpsed the elusive subatomic particle, known as the Higgs
boson.
If signs are strong enough they have seen the Higgs, theorized
to be the source of the mass of everything in the universe, they
must then decide whether to defer replacing their massive particle
accelerator and instead push their aging equipment for all-out
"discovery" in hopes of beating out their American rival.
"Anything can happen," said Neil Calder, spokesman for CERN,
the European Laboratory for Particle Physics.
During recent months the laboratory has stepped up power on its
Large Electron-Positron collider to the outer limit to see whether
it could discover the Higgs. The result was that three of the four
LEP detectors recorded what appeared to be tantalizing shadows of
the particle.
Finding the Higgs is expected to worthy of the Nobel Prize in
physics.
The long-sought particle was named for British physicist Peter
Higgs, who postulated its existence more than 30 years ago to
explain how atoms - and everything else in the universe - have
weight.
The Higgs theory is that the usually invisible bosons create a
field through which subatomic particles - such as quarks and
electrons - pass.
The particles that pass through slowly pick up more inertia, and
mass. The ones that pass through easily remain lighter.
On Thursday morning CERN shut down the LEP in preparation for
dismantling the 11-year-old accelerator and starting a five-year
construction project to install much more powerful equipment, to be
called the Large Hadron Collider. This is eagerly awaited because
it is expected to give scientists much better ability to examine
the building blocks of the atom.
But until a final decision is made, CERN could switch the LEP
back on and make a further push in the 17-mile circular tunnel
under the Swiss-French border.
If the LEP is shut down for good, many scientists think the
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory outside Chicago would have a
good chance of finding the Higgs before European laboratory comes
back on line.
Fermilab, which has been upgrading its own facilities for four
years, is to start its Higgs experiments next spring.
CERN already has postponed the LEP shutdown once - at the end of
September. The one-month extension made little financial difference
to the laboratory, but a continuation will likely cause costly
delays in building the $1.8 billion Large Hadron Collider.
It also will likely throw off planned experiments for top
physicists around the world. TORNA ALLA
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