Saturday, July 07, 2012

DTN News - SPECIAL REPORT: Best Evidence Yet Found For 'God Particle'

DTN News - SPECIAL REPORT: Best Evidence Yet Found For 'God Particle'
*US physicists say they have come close to proving existence of Higgs boson days before European findings are out
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Al Jazeera / AFP
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - July 7, 2012: The final findings from Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) in the midwestern US state of Illinois will be followed by the announcement of more definitive results from a potent European atom-smasher on Wednesday.

"Our data strongly point toward the existence of the Higgs boson, but it will take results from the experiments at the Large Hadron Collider in Europe to establish a discovery," said Fermilab spokesman Rob Roser.

The results come from 10 years of data from the Tevatron, a powerful atom-smasher that began its collider work in 1985 and closed down last year.
"During its life, the Tevatron must have produced thousands of Higgs particles, if they actually exist, and it's up to us to try to find them in the data we have collected," said Luciano Ristori, a physicist at Fermilab and Italy's National Institute for Nuclear Physics, or INFN.

"We have developed sophisticated simulation and analysis programs to identify Higgs-like patterns. Still, it is easier to look for a friend's face in a sports stadium filled with 100,000 people than to search for a Higgs-like event among trillions of collisions."

Difficult to pin down

The Higgs boson, named after Scottish physicist Peter Higgs, was first described in the 1960s and has been notoriously difficult to pin down.

"The Higgs boson is special," Fermilab theoretical physicist Joe Lykken told reporters, adding that the tough-to-find elementary particle "gets at why the universe is here in the first place."
Lykken said it can be thought of almost like an energy field that gives mass to objects. But it decays almost immediately into other particles.

Furthermore, just one in a trillion collisions in an atom-smasher experiment will produce a Higgs boson.

"This is much worse than a needle in a haystack," Lykken said, adding that he and many other physicists are eagerly anticipating the European results.

"We think we are getting very, very close to where we want to be, and by the end of the week we may be much closer."

The Tevatron results show that the Higgs particle, if it exists, has a mass between 115 and 135 gigaelectronvolts (GeV/c2), or about 130 times the mass of the proton.

Based on two experiments, known as CDF and DZero which include nearly 1,000 physicists from more than a dozen different countries, the team found that there is only a one-in-550 chance that the signal is a mere statistical fluke.

However, the statistical significance of the signal measures 2.9 sigma, and is not strong enough to meet the five sigma threshold required to say whether or not the particle has been discovered.

"We achieved a critical step in the search for the Higgs boson," said Dmitri Denisov, DZero spokesman and physicist at Fermilab.

"While 5-sigma significance is required for a discovery, it seems unlikely that the Tevatron collisions mimicked a Higgs signal. Nobody expected the Tevatron to get this far when it was built in the 1980s."

A more powerful machine at the European Center for Nuclear Research in December 2011 announced "tantalizing hints" that the sought-after particle was hiding inside a narrow range of mass.

CERN's Large Hadron Collider -- the world's largest atom-smasher, located along the French-Swiss border -- showed a likely range for the Higgs boson between 115 to 127 gigaelectronvolts.

US-based experiments echoed those findings in March 2012, though in a slightly larger range.
Now, the scientific community is eagerly anticipating the European results, expected at 0700 GMT on Wednesday from the CERN particle physics laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland.
"It is a real cliffhanger," said DZero spokesman Gregorio Bernardi, physicist at the Laboratory of Nuclear and High Energy Physics at the University of Paris VI and VII. "We are very excited about it." 

Related News;

Higgs boson explains a lot about nothing

Toronto Star - ‎4 minutes ago‎
There's been a lot of talk lately about updating our “20th-century” image, but is it a solution in... AP Photo/CERN An image proided by CERN shows the release of energy after the collision of two protons. Scientists at the world's biggest atom smasher ...

Forget bonus Bob, here's a real master of the universe

Daily Mail - ‎35 minutes ago‎
By Suzanne Moore Worlds collide sometimes. Well atoms do. Smashing them together at tremendous speed, physicists at CERN are getting to what matters. Actually, the Atlas experiment is about how matter attains mass and the elusive Higgs particle appears ...

Seminar held at Ramgarh school on Higgs boson

Times of India - ‎1 hour ago‎
RAMGARH: Students are curious about the revolutionary discovery of new subatomic particle Higgs boson which has given hints about the formation of stars, planets and even life. This prompted Ramgarh-based school to hold a seminar on the subject by ...

Scientists discover 'the God particle' •As Clerics insist it represents God

Nigerian Tribune - ‎2 hours ago‎
This 2011 image provide by CERN shows a real CMS proton-proton collision in which four high energy electrons (green lines and red towers) are observed in a 2011 event. The event shows characteristics expected from the decay of a Higgs boson but is also ...

Mass hysteria, now for hangovers

The Age - ‎2 hours ago‎
A proton-proton collision measured in the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experience in the search for the Higgs boson. Photo: AFP/CERN Well, that God particle's learnt a thing or two this week. There it was, the poor old Higgs boson, floating along in its ...

Q. and A.: The Higgs Boson and You

New York Times - ‎5 hours ago‎
Q. What exactly is a Higgs boson, and why all this fuss? A. Essentially, it's an eentsy-teensy-weensy particle — we're talking small here — that contains the answers to how the universe came about, including whether God was involved.

Higgs boson discovery marks new start in probing the unknown

The Daily Yomiuri - ‎7 hours ago‎
A new subatomic particle believed to be the "Higgs boson," hunted for more than 40 years by particle physicists around world, has been discovered at long last. The European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, on the Swiss-French border near ...

The 'God particle'

Inquirer.net - ‎10 hours ago‎
A few days ago, my 11-year-old granddaughter, Julia, who is in Grade 6 at Miriam, a Catholic school, came up to me asking: “Lolo, why did God create the world?” It was a question her teacher in Christian Living Education had given to the class to think ...

From Higgs to reality

Edmonton Journal - ‎12 hours ago‎
Re: "Higgs' discovery hailed; Teams confirm finding likely missing piece," the Journal, July 5. The Higgs boson subatomic particle is no longer the last great mystery of physics. The grandfather - or God, I should say - of all models has been ...

Skeptics took a back seat and let scientists have their moment with Higgs ...

The Star-Ledger - NJ.com (blog) - ‎15 hours ago‎
By Star-Ledger Editorial Board Fabrice Coffrini/Agence France-PresseA picture with a zoom effect show a graphic traces of proton-proton collisions events measured by European Organization for Nuclear Research in the Compact Muon Solenoid experience on ...

Science & Tech: Scots professor celebrates 'God Particle' discovery with ...

Scottish Daily Record - ‎15 hours ago‎
THE Edinburgh professor behind the greatest scientific discovery in half a century celebrated with a glass of sparkling wine and a can of beer on an easyJet flight. Professor Peter Higgs, 83, is being tipped for a Nobel prize after experts found what ...

I have no idea what God particle is for: Peter Higgs

Hindustan Times - ‎16 hours ago‎
Professor Peter Higgs, the British physicist whose theories led to the discovery of the Higgs Boson, has admitted that he has “no idea” what practical implications the breakthrough could have. Higgs refused to be drawn on whether the discovery proved ...

Japanese technology played central role in Higgs boson research

Asahi Shimbun - ‎18 hours ago‎
By TAKASHI KAMIGURI/ Staff Writer As Europe basks in the glory of Large Hadron Collider results that may end a decades-long search for the particle that gives matter its mass, Japanese firms are quietly celebrating their crucial part in the ...

Reuters Science News Summary

Chicago Tribune - ‎20 hours ago‎
Following is a summary of current science news briefs. Hawking's rival says Higgs wager win is icing on cake LONDON (Reuters) - The US scientist who won a $100 wager with Stephen Hawking over whether the Higgs boson would ever be found said on Friday ...

Ceri Gould: The first word

WalesOnline - ‎20 hours ago‎
by Ceri Gould, Western Mail Scientists have discovered a subatomic particle that is consistent with the Higgs boson particle that gives matter mass, Cern, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, announced this week. They haven't, I'm sorry to ...

'I had a nightmare ... '

Mail & Guardian Online - ‎21 hours ago‎
The search for the arcane, theoretical particle known as the Higgs boson has occupied thousands of researchers for more than two decades. All about the Higgs: a presentation at the Australian Science Media Centre. (Mal Fairclough, Reuters) The ...

For Higgs' sake, it is not the God particle

Daily News & Analysis - ‎21 hours ago‎
I was at a religious event in the family this week when I heard about the fact that the folks at CERN announced the potential discovery of something that the media decided to call the 'God particle.' I have one response to that but before I state my ...

The other name in Higgs boson

Toronto Star - ‎21 hours ago‎
Your editorial stated: “Today, the water cooler chatter is all about theoretical and particle physicists, of all unlikely pop icons. And Peter Higgs, an 83-year-old Scots scientist, in particular.” In all the hoopla about the discovery of the “God ...

'God particle' find sets scene for one hell of a row

Sydney Morning Herald - ‎Jul 6, 2012‎
Origin of the universe revealed Boson find leaves Hawking out of pocket Q&A: Your questions answered It's good news for physicists, but a big headache for the Nobel committee. Six physicists published the theory within four months of each other in 1964 ...

How the Higgs Boson Posits a New Story of our Creation

Daily Beast - ‎Jul 6, 2012‎
The media-adopted name for the Higgs Boson, believed to be discovered this week, couldn't be more misleading. Lawrence M. Krauss explains how the particle could finally dispense with the idea of a supernatural creator. Plus, cosmologist Sean Carroll on ...

'Nice to be right' says Prof Higgs

Herald Scotland - ‎Jul 6, 2012‎
THE retired professor who gave his name to the elusive "God particle" said it was "very nice to be right". Teams at the £2.6 billion Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva said on Tuesday they had found a new particle "consistent" with the Higgs boson ...

Higgs boson-like 'God particle' discovered

China Daily - ‎Jul 6, 2012‎
The British scientist who gave his name to what is likely to be the Higgs boson particle spoke of his delight at the discovery on Friday, saying it was "nice to be right sometimes". Professor Peter Higgs was making his first detailed public comments ...

Editorial: Higgs boson: quite a weighty matter

Newsday - ‎Jul 6, 2012‎
Opinion Newsday Print Aa Editorial Editorial: Higgs boson: quite a weighty matter Originally published: July 6, 2012 4:39 PM Updated: July 6, 2012 8:11 PM A mere subatomic particle, the Higgs boson will not cure cancer, reverse global warming, ...

Dear Diary: 'There she blows! I've found ye, Higgs boson!'

National Post - ‎Jul 6, 2012‎
The National Post reimagines a week in the life of a newsmaker. Today, Tristin Hopper looks at the week of Rolf-Dieter Heuer, director general of CERN: Monday A quadrillion proton collisions, but still, ye evade our watch. You task me, Higgs boson, ...

Our Political Black Hole

New York Times - ‎Jul 6, 2012‎
Scientists in Geneva announced this week that they had found a new subatomic particle that they were 99.999999 percent sure was the elusive Higgs boson, nicknamed the “God particle.” Even though we had no earthly idea what that meant, ...

Nice to be right, says Higgs after boson discovery

Times of India - ‎Jul 6, 2012‎
EDINBURGH: The British scientist who gave his name to the Higgs boson particle spoke on Friday of his delight after researchers affirmed its existence, saying it was "nice to be right sometimes". Professor Peter Higgs was making his first detailed ...

Prof Higgs celebrates discovery with God partic-ale

The Sun - ‎Jul 6, 2012‎
By LESLEY ROY THE scientist who predicted the Higgs boson discovery celebrated the news with a can of beer. Professor Peter Higgs came up with the theory of the so-called God particle. Experts this week revealed they believe they have found evidence ...

Canadian physicist Robert Orr on the Big Bang breakthrough

Globe and Mail - ‎Jul 6, 2012‎
Physicists around the world celebrated on Wednesday after researchers at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva announced that they believed they had found the long-sought Higgs boson, the final piece of the so-called Standard Model of particle physics.

It's official: Mermaids aren't real

Globe and Mail - ‎Jul 6, 2012‎
There was lots of excitement this week surrounding what appears to be the discovery of the long-theorized Higgs boson. Some in the scientific community lined up overnight to be present in the auditorium when Rolf-Dieter Heuer, director-general of the ...

Higgs boson finder says he has no idea what use it is

The Province (blog) - ‎Jul 6, 2012‎
British physicist Professor Peter Higgs says he can't think of any practical applications for the much-heralded Higgs boson “God particle” his theories led to the discovery of. Really?!? Then what has all this fuss been about?

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Al Jazeera / AFP
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS

DTN News - SPECIAL REPORT: Berkeley Lab Scientists Generate Electricity From Viruses

DTN News - SPECIAL REPORT: Berkeley Lab Scientists Generate Electricity From Viruses
*New approach is a promising first step toward the development of tiny devices that harvest electrical energy from everyday tasks
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Dan Krotz 510-486-4019  dakrotz@lbl.gov
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - July 7, 2012: The scientists tested their approach by creating a generator that produces enough current to operate a small liquid-crystal display. It works by tapping a finger on a postage stamp-sized electrode coated with specially engineered viruses. The viruses convert the force of the tap into an electric charge.

Their generator is the first to produce electricity by harnessing the piezoelectric properties of a biological material. Piezoelectricity is the accumulation of a charge in a solid in response to mechanical stress.

The milestone could lead to tiny devices that harvest electrical energy from the vibrations of everyday tasks such as shutting a door or climbing stairs.
It also points to a simpler way to make microelectronic devices. That’s because the viruses arrange themselves into an orderly film that enables the generator to work. Self-assembly is a much sought after goal in the finicky world of nanotechnology.

The first part of the video shows how Berkeley Lab scientists harness the piezoelectric properties of a virus to convert the force of a finger tap into electricity. The second part shows the “viral-electric” generators in action, first by pressing only one of the generators, then by pressing two at the same time, which produces more current.
The scientists describe their work in a May 13 advance online publication of the journalNature Nanotechnology.
“More research is needed, but our work is a promising first step toward the development of personal power generators, actuators for use in nano-devices, and other devices based on viral electronics,” says Seung-Wuk Lee, a faculty scientist in Berkeley Lab’s Physical Biosciences Division and a UC Berkeley associate professor of bioengineering.
He conducted the research with a team that includes Ramamoorthy Ramesh, a scientist in Berkeley Lab’s Materials Sciences Division and a professor of materials sciences, engineering, and physics at UC Berkeley; and Byung Yang Lee of Berkeley Lab’s Physical Biosciences Division.
The M13 bacteriophage has a length of 880 nanometers and a diameter of 6.6 nanometers. It’s coated with approximately 2700 charged proteins that enable scientists to use the virus as a piezoelectric nanofiber.
The M13 bacteriophage has a length of 880 nanometers and a diameter of 6.6 nanometers. It’s coated with approximately 2700 charged proteins that enable scientists to use the virus as a piezoelectric nanofiber.
The piezoelectric effect was discovered in 1880 and has since been found in crystals, ceramics, bone, proteins, and DNA. It’s also been put to use. Electric cigarette lighters and scanning probe microscopes couldn’t work without it, to name a few applications.
But the materials used to make piezoelectric devices are toxic and very difficult to work with, which limits the widespread use of the technology.
Lee and colleagues wondered if a virus studied in labs worldwide offered a better way. The M13 bacteriophage only attacks bacteria and is benign to people. Being a virus, it replicates itself by the millions within hours, so there’s always a steady supply. It’s easy to genetically engineer. And large numbers of the rod-shaped viruses naturally orient themselves into well-ordered films, much the way that chopsticks align themselves in a box.
These are the traits that scientists look for in a nano building block. But the Berkeley Lab researchers first had to determine if the M13 virus is piezoelectric. Lee turned to Ramesh, an expert in studying the electrical properties of thin films at the nanoscale. They applied an electrical field to a film of M13 viruses and watched what happened using a special microscope. Helical proteins that coat the viruses twisted and turned in response—a sure sign of the piezoelectric effect at work.
The bottom 3-D atomic force microscopy image shows how the viruses align themselves side-by-side in a film. The top image maps the film's structure-dependent piezoelectric properties, with higher voltages a lighter color.
The bottom 3-D atomic force microscopy image shows how the viruses align themselves side-by-side in a film. The top image maps the film's structure-dependent piezoelectric properties, with higher voltages a lighter color.
Next, the scientists increased the virus’s piezoelectric strength. They used genetic engineering to add four negatively charged amino acid residues to one end of the helical proteins that coat the virus. These residues increase the charge difference between the proteins’ positive and negative ends, which boosts the voltage of the virus.
The scientists further enhanced the system by stacking films composed of single layers of the virus on top of each other. They found that a stack about 20 layers thick exhibited the strongest piezoelectric effect.
The only thing remaining to do was a demonstration test, so the scientists fabricated a virus-based piezoelectric energy generator. They created the conditions for genetically engineered viruses to spontaneously organize into a multilayered film that measures about one square centimeter. This film was then sandwiched between two gold-plated electrodes, which were connected by wires to a liquid-crystal display.
When pressure is applied to the generator, it produces up to six nanoamperes of current and 400 millivolts of potential. That’s enough current to flash the number “1” on the display, and about a quarter the voltage of a triple A battery.
“We’re now working on ways to improve on this proof-of-principle demonstration,” says Lee. “Because the tools of biotechnology enable large-scale production of genetically modified viruses, piezoelectric materials based on viruses could offer a simple route to novel microelectronics in the future.”
From left, Byung-Yang Lee, Seung-Wuk Lee, and Ramamoorthy Ramesh
From left, Byung Yang Lee, Seung-Wuk Lee, and Ramamoorthy Ramesh developed the "viral-electric" generator. (Photos by Roy Kaltschmidt of Berkeley Lab. The video and scientific images are courtesy of Seung-Wuk Lee's lab)
Berkeley Lab’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development fund and the National Science Foundation supported this work.
###
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory addresses the world’s most urgent scientific challenges by advancing sustainable energy, protecting human health, creating new materials, and revealing the origin and fate of the universe. Founded in 1931, Berkeley Lab’s scientific expertise has been recognized with 13 Nobel prizes. The University of California manages Berkeley Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. For more, visit www.lbl.gov.
Additional information:

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Dan Krotz 510-486-4019  dakrotz@lbl.gov
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS