Monday, March 12, 2012

Stephen Tremp & The Higgs Boson


You wake up in the morning and step on the scale. You take a sip of coffee and the gears in your brain start to crank up. You smile because even though you may not have lost any weight, you understand scientifically how your weight is determined. The quantity of your mass and the force of gravity determines your weight.

Okay. You get it. Mass + the force of gravity = weight. But wait. You take another sip of coffee and your brain picks up speed. You dig a little deeper, scratch your head, and wonder just what the heck determines your mass? What gives mass its mass? You’re not quite satisfied as you want more answers but don’t have them. Well, you’re not alone. In fact, you’re in great company. This is one of the most-asked and hotly pursued questions in all of physics today. What determines mass?

Enter the Higgs Boson and the Standard Model.


“The standard model describes the behaviour and interactions of all of the most fundamental particles we have seen. The model was developed throughout the 20th century and finalised when the existence of quarks, the particles that make up protons and neutrons, was confirmed in the 1970s. At the time many of the particles predicted by the standard model were yet to be seen. Over the years since then, physicists have ticked these particles off, one by one, like items on a shopping list. Now they are left with just one remaining unfound particle — the Higgs boson.” (Kelly Oakes)

Eureka! After years of frustrating tests, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at
CERN detected events that hint at identifying the sub-atomic particle called The Higgs Boson. Then, just last week. “new measurements were announced by scientists at the Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory indicate that the elusive Higgs boson may nearly be cornered. After analyzing the full data set from the Tevatron accelerator, which completed its last run in September 2011, the two independent experiments see hints of a Higgs boson.” (Science Daily)


Why Should I Care? (Doing a spit take with the remainder of my coffee) Why indeed! LHC experiments will address questions such as what gives matter its mass, what the invisible 96% of the Universe is made of, why nature prefers matter to antimatter and how matter evolved from the first instants of the Universe’s existence. Some are talking increasingly of the "New Physics" on the horizon that could totally change current views of the universe and how it works.

Yes folks, we may very well be unlocking more of the secrets of our universe and our place in it! Exciting stuff for sure. So stay tuned!

Stephen Tremp, author of the BREAKTHROUGH series, has a B.A. in information systems and an MBA degree in global management. Stephen has a background in information systems, management, and finance and draws from this varied and complex experiential knowledge to write one-of-a-kind thrillers.

His novels are enhanced by current events at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and other scientific research facilities around the world. These potential advances have the ability to change the way we perceive our universe and our place in it!

You can visit Stephen Tremp at
Breakthrough Blogs. BREAKTHROUGH and OPENING can be downloaded:

Download Opening:
Amazon Kindle $1.99

Download Breakthrough:
Amazon Kindle for $1.99


***
Thanks so much for dropping by, Stephen! I wonder if all these discoveries will help us figure out how to lose some of that mass???

So, anyone out there pondering some of these mysteries of the universe?

57 comments:

Unknown said...

Absolutely fascinating!

I'd like to lose some mass - and as for those bathroom scales ... they look rather familiar! HELP!!

Thanks, Jemi and Stephen. Great post!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Jemi and Steve ... the physicists are getting excited - it is fascinating, even for those of us that have a smidgeon of an idea what's going on, I hope we find out more in my lifetime ..

I too would like a little more weightlessnes ... cheers and have a great week .. Hilary

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

I was recently watching a show on mass and the universe and it was so fascinating. We have definitely advanced in our knowledge in a short amount of time. Exciting times.

Laura Pauling said...

I've been hearing about this for a while. My dad is a doctor and writes about the brain, the universe, and matter vs anti-matter. Light dinner discussion.

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

A fascinating read, but I wish my body mass was a litte lighter, all the same.

Yvonne.

Natalie Aguirre said...

Great post. I'm wishing my body mass was lighter too and that the scale didn't need to say help. Good luck with your books Stephen.

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Thanks for explaining this in an easy to digest way! I think my brain was on hiatus when the teachers discussed mass in school. :)

Old Kitty said...

I saw a most fab documentary about the search for this most elusive HB! These mad physicists are ever so excited they are nearing to locating it too!! Yay for them!

Huge wave to Stephen Tremp!! All the best to him!!

Take care
x

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

If we discover teleportation, then I'll be really excited.

Jemi Fraser said...

Wendy - I'm with you on that one!

Hilary - I agree - even if we don't know that much, it's really interesting to keep up with the snippets!

Lynda - agreed! We're definitely living in times of rapidly expanding knowledge - so fascinating!

Laura - I'd love to sit in on some of your dinners! What interesting stuff you must discuss :)

Yvonne - I completely agree with you!

Natalie - I'm there right along with you!

Elizabeth - agreed! I'm thinking your brain wasn't the only one snoozing! :)

Old Kitty - I considered becoming a researchist at one point - such fascinating stuff!

Alex - me too! That would be awesome - no lines at the airport! :)

Anonymous said...

Truly fascinating post!

(And here I thought it was chocolate that created mass.) ;-)

Anonymous said...

It will be interesting to see what they come up with. Interesting post!

Jemi Fraser said...

Liz - wouldn't it be great if chocolate didn't create any mass! :)

Kirsten - it really will. These scientists are such creative types!

Talli Roland said...

Stephen has the most interesting posts! Good to hear it's not all my butter-laden pieces of toast causing mass.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Jemi for hosting me today! Always a pleasure to stop by and visit you and your people. I'll be stopping by throughout the day to read and respond to comments.

Jemi Fraser said...

Talli - He really does! I love my buttery toast too :)

Stephen - you're very welcome - it's always a pleasure to have you stop by via the Tinkerbell express! :)

Anonymous said...

The TV shows are bringing this stuff directly into people's living rooms. With the help of computer graphics, these shows come alive and we can better "see" what the heck these scientists are talking about. We do live in very exciting times that are changing right before our very eyes!

Ellie Garratt said...

Thanks, Stephen and Jemi. A fascinating post. Was written in a way I could understand - always a plus in my book!

Julie Dao said...

Very, very interesting post. Bringing science to the public as a whole is so incredibly important. Presenting it in a way that can be easily understood is vital - I think most people equate "science" with "difficult" and that may keep them from learning about some incredibly fascinating subjects.

Laura S. said...

I ponder the universe's mysteries all the time! Sometimes I like that there are no answers though. It makes it more fun to speculate!

Johanna Garth said...

I think the true secret of the universe would be if you discovered a way to reallocate mass!

Anonymous said...

People can also tune into YouTube to watch short clips of just about any topic including the Higgs Boson. They can watch clips about CERN, the Large Hadron Collider, black holes, wormholes, you name it, its probably there.

Lisa Gail Green said...

Ack! My husband gets all this stuff, it's not so easy for me. But I do love it when people incorporate the info into novels. It takes a special brain to do that. :D

Jemi Fraser said...

Ellie - I agree - Stephen makes it easy to understand! :)

Julie - so true. We all need to know some of these things. Without true understanding, we'll never achieve our next level as a species!

Laura - love it! Having a little magic in our universe is a very good thing! :)

Johanna - love it! I think that would be a very good thing!

Stephen - the internet has sure made it easier for us average Joes to see and experience some mighty cool things!

Jemi Fraser said...

Lisa - I agree! Anne McCaffrey does a good job of incorporating some science into a fantasy series as well as her sci-fi series! :)

cleemckenzie said...

I loved the McCaffrey books and a lot of that was because of the science she included. That makes for really good fantasy in my opinion.

As to mass, I always thought that had to do with church. Sorry, but it's Monday and my head's still adjusting to Daylight Saving's Time. I'll be more coherent next week.

Jemi Fraser said...

Lee - I agree! McCaffrey is one of my all-time favourite writers. And I love your take on mass! The switch to DST is NOT an easy one... :)

Anonymous said...

I haven't read any of Anne McCaffrey's books but the Dragonriders of Pern series is the back burner to read. Now that I can check out library books on my Kindle Fire I'll look into White Dragon.

Jemi Fraser said...

Stephen - White Dragon is a great one! Jaxom is one of my favourite characters :)

ali cross said...

That is so, so cool! I love reading sci fi that has a basis in reality. And I'm certain my hubby especially would love these. Off to check them out!

Thanks Jemi!

Jemi Fraser said...

Ali - me too! The books are a great mix of sci and adventure :)

Crazy Life of a Writing Mom said...

You've really got me thinking!

I LOVE McCaffrey too :0)

Jemi Fraser said...

Elisabeth - Stephen is really good at making us think! :) Yay for another McCaffrey fan!

Denise Covey said...

This is all too much this early in the morning, lol! Great stuff.

Denise

Lydia Kang said...

I prefer to wallow in the mundanity of a chocolate chip cookie than consider the subatomic mysteries of the universe. (I stole that from Bloom County.)

M Pax said...

Particle physics is fascinating.

Waving at Stephen and Jemi.

Anonymous said...

ali, I love the realistic sci fi. Futuristic sci fi and fantasy are fun too. But its the near future sci fi I write and enjoy to read.

Elisabeth, its fun to wonder. Life would be too boring otherwise.

Denise, hahaha. Yeah, better have coffee or wine (depending on the time of day or night) when delving into this stuff.

Lydia, love that quote!

M Pax, is that a wave-particle? Or just a wave?

Jemi Fraser said...

Denise - too true - need to wake up a bit before delving into the mysteries of the universe! :)

Lydia - that's a great idea! Choc chip cookie sit is! :)

M Pax - *waving back*! Thanks for dropping by!

Anonymous said...

Interesting post. I'll have to check out some of those YouTube videos for some of the things Stephen mentioned. Stephen's Grand OPENING Tour certainly has been interesting. Hope everyone has a great week!

Susanne
PUTTING WORDS DOWN ON PAPER

Jemi Fraser said...

Susanne - it sure has been fun - and interesting! :)

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Stephen, you actually explain this stuff so I can understand it. You're much more interesting than my high school physics teacher.

Leslie S. Rose said...

Not only do I constantly ponder these uber science geek wonderings, I also have to try and explain them to 33 10-year-olds. EEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKK.

Arlee Bird said...

You're making my head swim. I usually don't think about this stuff much anymore unless I'm with friends and we get off on trying to figure out how the universe works.


Lee
An A to Z Co-Host
Tossing It Out
Twitter: @AprilA2Z
#atozchallenge
Blogging from A to Z

Theresa Milstein said...

Jemi, nice to see Stephen here.

Stephen, this sounds like a very important new test for our understanding of the universe. But will it be able to explain my additional belly mass? More importantly, how exactly to get rid of it?

Jemi Fraser said...

Susan - love it! And I totally agree :)

Leslie - I know! Mine are 11 year olds, but I do the same thing!!! EEEKKK indeed :)

Lee - gotta love when you're sitting around and those kinds of discussions come up! :)

Theresa - I wish! That would indeed be a huge step forward for science!!

Susan Fields said...

You lost me at the part about stepping on the scale and smiling - too unrealistic for me! Just kidding - fascinating post, thank you!

Anonymous said...

Maybe CERN should concentrate on a magic pill that will eliminate weight rather than look for the Higgs Boson. They'd probably make a lot more money.

Jemi Fraser said...

Susan - I know! :)

Stephen - the really would - but I like the other aspects to the discoveries too!

Saumya said...

So cool! I love that people can think of such interesting ideas. It's quite inspiring!

Jemi Fraser said...

Saumya - you're so right! Some people don't believe scientists are very creative. I often think they are the most creative of all!

Romance Reader said...

Hi Jemi,

I read Stephen's Breakthough and found it thrilling. Now I'm looking forward to reading his next!

Riya

Anonymous said...

Arlee, its either talk about that or try to figure out how to change the time on my DVD player. Stupid day lights savings time.

Theresa, if I knew that I would be a gazillionaire.

Susan, there was a time I would beg to gain weight. Now, not so much. I can file this under be careful what you ask for.

Saumya, interesting ideas are all around us. And these guys have done the research so much of my work is already done.

Romance Reader, thanks and I'm confident you won't be disappointed!

Jemi Fraser said...

Riya - I bet you'll enjoy Opening just as much! :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for hosting me Jemi! This was fun and I met a few new people too. I'll Tweet the post a few times over the next couple days.

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks for visiting Stephen - it's been a lot of fun! :)

Anonymous said...

Yes, I'm pondering.

I always like Stephen's posts. They're educational.

Jemi Fraser said...

Medeia - I agree - they're always fun to read :)