Higgs, Hidden Worlds and Dark Forces

[Twiglet]

Some extracts from an article in todays news, which in places sounds suspiciously like it's describing a Star Wars universe. You can read the whole thing (which is 2 or 3 times as long as the extracts posted here) by following the link below.

The hunt for the God particle

Our knowledge of the cosmos tells us that the stuff around us, from plants and people to stars and planets, is made from just a handful of elementary particles. On top of these, there is a small number of forces that make nature run smoothly, doing things like keeping planets in their orbits and ensuring everyday objects don't suddenly collapse into a pile of atoms. But how do we know, asks Wells, that there isn't much more going on than this? Our knowledge of nature and how it works is based on observations. What if we can't see everything? What might we be missing out on? There could be a "hidden world" out there, Wells says, where particles and forces are busily at work, all around us, but beyond the realm of our senses.

The phrase "hidden world" sounds like a science-fiction cliche, but it simply means that there may be more particles and forces at work in the world – and the cosmos at large – than those we see when we look around. They are so aloof, so hidden from our daily experience, that they go completely unnoticed.

"It would be strange if we were so special that we could feel and observe everything that is going on out there," says Wells, who is one of a growing number of physicists working on the hidden worlds idea. "We are lumps of clay swirling on a little blue marble in an overwhelming vastness of universe. We have to envision that there is more going on. There really should be additional particles and forces," he says.


...//...

"The LHC will likely be the first collider in history to be able to see the Higgs boson and so illuminate this bridge," Wells says. "We may be on the brink of discovering new worlds by means of it."

...//...

As the Milky Way spins on its axis, our planet passes through vast stretches of dark matter – if it does exist – without us even noticing. And though dark matter is part of the hidden world, it is only a part. "The likely existence of dark matter suggests that there is more stuff out there that we do not know than we do know," says Wells.

Ask physicists to speculate about a hidden world – and that is half the fun of theoretical physics – and the possibilities of what might be lurking beyond the reach of our senses are endless. "Once you start considering these ideas actively, there's no theoretical reason to rule out a very interesting, dynamic and diverse dark or hidden world," says Neal Weiner, a physicist at New York University. "It leads to all sorts of conversations about the possibilities of dark people and dark planets. Now that is extremely unlikely, but it's something to think about. Once you open the box, it's not obvious where it will end."

What is more likely, according to physicists working in the field, is that the hidden world is filled with a wispy fog of dark matter and puny dark forces that are incapable of forming dark planets and more exotic objects like dark life.

...//...

One of the most compelling aspects of the hidden world idea is that it doesn't require physicists to tear up all the work they have already done in describing how the universe works. "Physics has advanced so far that it's not easy to take things on in a way that is consistent with what we already know. The hidden world idea at least passes that test. It's easy to add all of this stuff into our existing theoretical framework," says Wilczek.

So when is the LHC going to find this thing? The short answer is that nobody expects the Higgs boson to be discovered any time soon. To find it physicists need a collider that has enough energy to make the particle, but how much is enough is not clear. They then need to find the telltale signature of the Higgs particle among the subatomic detritus spewed out by collisions in the machine, which is a formidable task.


...//...

Finding the Higgs boson will end one of the greatest hunts in modern physics, but as that chapter closes, a new one will open. Wrapping up his talk in Durham in December last year, Wells issued a rallying call. The Higgs particle could help them get over their anthropocentric ways and open up vast new territories of hidden worlds. "And that would only be the beginning," says Wells.

[Farsight]

The God particle. Hidden worlds. Dark people...

Groan. You really are promoting mysticism and moonshine, Twiglet.

[Twiglet]

The God particle. Hidden worlds. Dark people...

Groan. You really are promoting mysticism and moonshine, Twiglet.

I'm posting a contemporary article explaining science to non scientists farsight. Hence, you should find it very useful, as you don't seem to like maths very much. If you disagree with the article, perhaps you can promote your alternative views on the comment section of their website....

[Trolldor]

The God particle. Hidden worlds. Dark people...

Groan. You really are promoting mysticism and moonshine, Twiglet.

Forces, not people.

What's with the racism?

[SPMaximus]

The God particle. Hidden worlds. Dark people...

Groan. You really are promoting mysticism and moonshine, Twiglet.

Forces, not people.

What's with the racism?

Pale people

Shite, am i a racist as well now?

[JimC]

Before the neutrino was discovered, no one knew of the constant stream of vast numbers of particles passing through our everyday world like little quantum ghosts...

Why not more!

[Farsight]

It's one thing to speculate about particles, but to go from there to hidden worlds and even "dark people" inhabiting those worlds, is going beyond speculation into woo. This is the sort of condescending self-promotional moonshine that diminishes science in the eyes of the public.

[ChildInAZoo]

In the eyes of a public that don't actually read the next paragraph.

[Farsight]

I read it all.

[colubridae]

Farsight why do you call ipetrich 'loren'

He says he doesn't know you personally. I'm just interested.

[Farsight]

No real reason. That's his first name, I saw him say so on another website, and every now and then I'd type it without thinking. I don't know him at all.

I do think it's good that people give their real names. It makes for a more courteous more civil discussion. Some people have a tendency to be abusive when they feel anonymous, and some eventually turn into trolls. I've seen it happen to people. Not good.

[colubridae]

No real reason. That's his first name, I saw him say so on another website, and every now and then I'd type it without thinking. I don't know him at all.

I do think it's good that people give their real names. It makes for a more courteous more civil discussion. Some people have a tendency to be abusive when they feel anonymous, and some eventually turn into trolls. I've seen it happen to people. Not good.

No probs.

It just looked a bit creepy. Like you were doing a lamont.
Especially as he wasn't first naming you. But it's none of my business.

[AnInconvenientScotsman]

No real reason. That's his first name, I saw him say so on another website, and every now and then I'd type it without thinking. I don't know him at all.

I do think it's good that people give their real names. It makes for a more courteous more civil discussion. Some people have a tendency to be abusive when they feel anonymous, and some eventually turn into trolls. I've seen it happen to people. Not good.

My name is Mark - now fuck off

[JimC]

colubridae wrote:

...Like you were doing a lamont

We have a new meme!

[colubridae]

colubridae wrote:

...Like you were doing a lamont

We have a new meme!

Careful you might set him off with his yawn lyrics again.