British theoretical physicist Peter Higgs photographed in the moments following the announcement of Higgs Boson discovery on July 4th at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. Vancouver’s Zecotek Photonics has worked closely with CERN for several years.
In July, scientists at Switzerland’s CERN research centre unveiled the latest results in their search for the Higgs boson, a subatomic particle believed to be key to the formation of stars, planets and, ultimately, life.
The particle, first proposed by several physicists including Peter Higgs, is the final piece of the Standard Model, a theory that describes the building blocks of the universe. The eleven other particles predicted by the model have been found and finding the Higgs would validate the model.
How important is the Higgs boson discovery? It “…is up there with Copernicus…” says Yale University professor of mechanical engineering Ainissa Ramirez, adding: “The Higgs boson is the biggest scientific discovery of the 21st Century. Period.”