Professor Higgs puts the champagne on ice after Higgs boson discovery

The scientist who first proposed the theory of the Higgs boson particle has asked his family to put the champagne on ice after scientists announced they have captured the elusive particle.

The concept was first proposed by Professor Peter Higgs who came up with the idea while walking through the Cairngorms in 1964.

On Wednesday, the retired University of Edinburgh physicist said he was "astounded" by the speed of the discovery, saying he did not expect it to happen in his lifetime.

A progress report from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) showed the historic discovery.

Professor John Womersley, chief executive of the Science and technology Facilities Council, said: "They have discovered a particle consistent with the Higgs boson.

"Discovery is the important word. That is confirmed. It's a momentous day for science."

Finding the Higgs plugs a gaping hole in the Standard Model, the theory that describes all the particles, forces and interactions that make up the universe.

If the particle was shown not to exist, it would have meant tearing up the Standard Model and going back to the drawing board.

In December, LHC scientists revealed they had caught a first tantalising glimpse of the particle.

The announcement was made at a seminar at the Geneva headquarters of Cern, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research.

Cern director general, Rolf Heuer, said: "We have reached a milestone in our understanding of nature. The discovery of a particle consistent with the Higgs boson opens the way to more detailed studies, requiring larger statistics, which will pin down the new particle’s properties, and is likely to shed light on other mysteries of our universe.”

Professor Higgs was at the seminar, and said he had asked his family to put the champagne in the fridge.

He said: "Scientists at CERN are to be congratulated on today's results, which are a great achievement for the Large Hadron Collider and other experiments leading up to this.

"I am astounded at the amazing speed with which these results have emerged. They are a testament to the expertise of the researchers and the elaborate technologies in place.

"I never expected this to happen in my lifetime and shall be asking my family to put some champagne in the fridge."

Professor Sir Timothy O'Shea, Principal of the University of Edinburgh, said: "We are delighted at this significant development in the search for the Higgs boson, and congratulate Professor Peter Higgs on this.

"This particle is integral to our understanding of the physical world and evidence of its existence is a testament to Professor Higgs and to all the scientists who are working to uncover it.

"Professor Higgs has inspired many colleagues and students over the years, some of whom have also gone on to become involved in the Large Hadron Collider experiments. His legacy will continue to inspire future generation of physicists, at Edinburgh and beyond."

Wednesday's results are preliminary and more detailed reports will be available later this year.

The LHC, the largest scientific instrument ever built, lies in an underground tunnel with a circumference of 17 miles that straddles the French-Swiss border near Geneva.

Protons, the "hearts" of atoms, are fired around the ring in opposite directions at almost the speed of light. When they smash together, huge amounts of energy are converted into mass and new particles created which then decay into lighter particles.

Higgs bosons emerge from the maelstrom but only very fleetingly, for less than a trillionth of a second, before decaying. By tracing the decay patterns, the scientists were able to find the "fingerprint" of the Higgs.

Video shows the STV News report from 2008 when the Large Hadron Collider was first opened.

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