Higgs boson

Early in the morning on July 4 (on this continent) scientists from around the world gathered with chilled champagne for "physics parties" to celebrate not the birth of a nation but the possible discovery of a sub-atomic particle hypothesized as fundamental to existence as we know it. The planning for these parties began fifty years ago as physicists pondered the elementary forces of nature. British physicist Peter Higgs posited the existence of an unseen background field permeating space that serves as a sort of cosmic molasses. When particles pass through this field, they gain mass. Mass makes it possible for stars, planets, buckeye trees, and people to exist. Scientists referred to this molasses as the Higgs field and posited that it was composed of Higgs particles or Higgs bosons. The problem is that no one has seen this field or one of its constituent particles.

The search for the Higgs boson led to the construction of the Large Hadron Collider outside Geneva, Switzerland (and other colliders elsewhere). The collider is a spectacular feat of engineering in its own right. It took more than a decade to construct, cost more than ten billion dollars, and so far operates at only 50% capacity. It exists to hurl particles at each other with incredible force and velocity so that when they collide they split into the basic particles of existence, such as the Higgs boson. In the past two years each collision has yielded 1000 one-terabytes hard drives of data (more than all the data in all the libraries of the world), but no Higgs boson. That changed last week and champagne corks popped as physicists received almost certain verification that repeated collisions had yielded a Higgs boson or something very like it. (Don't fret over the "almost certain." Physicists are only almost certain they exist!)

My understanding of physics does not allow me to comprehend all that the Higgs particle represents, but this discovery fills me with something akin to religious awe. My sense of wonder reflects not only the fact that this discovery could change our view of ourselves and our universe, but also the process behind this discovery.

Thousands of physicists from eleven nations who speak a variety of languages worked together on this project, encouraging each other and critically assessing each other's' work. Thousands of skilled workers collaborated to create the Large Hadron Collider and an untold number of donors contributed the funds. Whereas many of the advances of the "space age" came as nations competed against each other, the discovery of the Higgs boson occurred as nations and individuals worked with each other. We human beings, who sin so boldly, also have the capacity for astonishing goodness.

I also find it inspiring that these physicists have spent their lives and careers looking for the Higgs boson even though most thought it would not be discovered in their lifetimes and many concluded that it did not exist. They sought because they wanted to know. In my words, possibly not theirs, they sought because of the wonder of their field of endeavor. Imagine the possibilities if people of faith exhibited similar commitment to ministries that seem beyond our abilities but are less worth pursuing because we may not be able to reach them!

When detractors called an ambitious goal impossible, Robert Greenleaf used to reply, "We got where we are by doing the impossible, and future progress ... will be by the same route." Theologian Reinhold Niebuhr drew a similar, more poetic conclusion: "Nothing worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love."

Happy Birthday, Higgs boson. I'll never completely understand you, but I stand in awe of what gave birth to you and us.

Grace and Peace,

LP