Particle hunt off, collider comes down.Hints of a major particle discovery couldn't stop the wrecking crew. Scene of an all-out push this fall to find signs of the so-called Higgs boson boson: see elementary particles; Bose-Einstein statistics. boson Subatomic particle with integral spin that is governed by Bose-Einstein statistics. , the Large Electron Positron (LEP (Light Emitting Polymer) An organic polymer that glows (emits photons) when excited by electricity. LEP screens are used to make organic LED (OLED) displays and are expected to compete with LCD screens in the future. See OLED. ) collider is now "an official demolition site," says Neil Calder, spokesman for the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), LEP's home near Geneva Geneva, canton and city, Switzerland Geneva (jənē`və), Fr. Genève, canton (1990 pop. 373,019), 109 sq mi (282 sq km), SW Switzerland, surrounding the southwest tip of the Lake of Geneva. . Although LEP was slated for dismantling to make way for a more powerful collider, CERN had extended its life in September after scientists caught what appeared to be glimpses of the long-sought Higgs (SN: 9/23/00, p. 196). Because it presumably pre·sum·a·ble adj. That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. bestows mass on other particles, the Higgs is central to physics theory. Even with more evidence for the particle (SN: 11/4/00, p. 294), proponents of keeping LEP alive couldn't win over CERN Director General Luciano Maiani. He found the new data insufficient to justify construction delays for the Large Hadron Collider This article or section contains information about an expected future scientific facility. It is likely to contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the facility approaches completion. , LEP's successor at CERN, and $65 million in extra costs to keep LEP going, says Calder. |
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