Overzealous religious people were likely weeping on March 13, 2013 as the Geneva-based nuclear research organization confirmed their discovery of “the god particle.” It was announced last July that researchers thought the Higgs boson was found but couldn’t say for certain; there was much skepticism and it needed the numbers to prove it wasn’t just an error. The particle is so elusive that only it is found in about 1 in a billion.
In 1964 Peter Higgs theorized that this particular particle would explain why matter has mass, that when molecules pass through it they become bound together. The now 83-year-old scientist is able to see the fruits of his intellectual labor come to life, as Nobel Peace Prize talks are circulating. There is a bit of grey about the prize regarding who should get it though, Higgs himself, the team of researchers who discovered it, or both parties. Regardless, this new discovery has come from decades worth of time and thousands of scientists–a large effort on an international scale.
With this new finding, this subatomic particle can help scientist put many of the pieces together regarding the big bang which happened 13.7 billion years ago.