Closer to "God particle?"

Wisconsin scientists are playing a hand in, perhaps, helping find what’s called the “God particle.”

Physicists working at a high-energy particle collider in Switzerland say they’ve found a new particle. They say they’re not sure if it’s the Higgs boson, for which scientists have been looking for decades. But it may be, and if so, that would help explain what gives mass to matter, and tell us more about the formation of the universe. UW-Madison has dozens of scientists involved in the experiments and data analysis. Physics professor Wesley Smith says it’s important to find by which mechanism particles acquire mass.

Smith says scientists only know about the whereabouts of about five percent of the matter in the universe. And, locking in on the Higgs boson particle would also help solve that mystery. But Smith explains the caution about this week’s announcement. Smith says he’s happy with the progress. He’s been working on the higgs/boson project for 18 years.