Atlas Experiment

[bushiri2005]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4035747.stm<br /><br />"The Atlas experiment will explore the fundamental properties of matter and look for "new physics" beyond the limits of our current understanding." What precisely is the Higgs boson? Couldnt those mini-blackholes grow bigger? (hehe) And is this a step in the right direction for creating say a quantum law about gravity?

 

[rogers_buck]

The Higgs boson is thought to be the particle that conveys mass to particles. This is not to be confused with a graviton. The degree to which a particle interacts with the Higgs field determines how much mass (if any) the particle will have.<br /><br />The smaller a black hole the shorter its lifetime. These mini-holes would evaporate long before interacting and swallowing up other matter. If that turns out to be wrong, we'll finally get a space program.<br />