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Race For the "God Particle" Heats Up

SpuriousLogic writes "CERN is losing ground rapidly in the race to discover the elusive Higgs boson, its American rival claims. Fermilab say the odds of their Tevatron accelerator finding it first are now 50-50 at worst, and up to 96% at best. CERN's Lyn Evans admitted the accident which will halt the $7B Large Hadron Collider until September may cost them one of the biggest prizes in physics."

16 of 397 comments (clear)

  1. Re:How do you give odds for that? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I see nothing wrong here. As they say - it's 50-50: they either find it, or not.

  2. Re:How do you give odds for that? by Prof.Phreak · · Score: 5, Funny

    Also, what are the odds the particle doesn't exist AND they find it?

    --

    "If anything can go wrong, it will." - Murphy

  3. Re:How do you give odds for that? by Hogwash+McFly · · Score: 5, Funny

    1/0

    --
    Mother, do you think they'll like this sig?
  4. LHC still important by haleyeah · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yeah, but can the tevatron create black holes or rip the fabric of the time/space continuum? GO CERN!

  5. Let them find that particle first by gmuslera · · Score: 2, Funny

    One thing is to prove than a theoretical particle exist, and another to give the world a new (and somewhat clean) source of energy and/or world peace, all humanity together... well, at least if the resulting black hole is stable enough.

  6. Re:How do you give odds for that? by 0xdeadbeef · · Score: 5, Funny

    Giving odds for finding a theoretical particle is like giving odds on finding life in the solar system.

    So it's one, then?

  7. Hmm by LizardKing · · Score: 3, Funny

    If this is anything like the last time a scientist tried finding the clitoris it could be a long wait.

  8. Re:Can we stop calling it the "God Particle" yet? by master_p · · Score: 3, Funny

    Ok. How about the Allah Particle?

  9. Re:No by FTWinston · · Score: 5, Funny

    It was referred jokingly to as "that goddamn particle" ... but the relevant newspaper wasn't allowed to print such obscenties. Hence they went with 'God particle' and the nickname stuck, in the media at least.

  10. Re:How do you give odds for that? by Atrox666 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Technically until they fire it up isn't the particle both found and not found?

  11. Re:race? by genner · · Score: 5, Funny

    As true as the outcome may be, that still doesn't validate the necessity of a race to procure a speedier advancement.

    You don't think that if the USA And the USSR had worked together that we wouldn't have gotten there just as quick, if not quicker?

    No if we had worked together things would still be tied up in a international comittee and at best we would have a non-binding resolution to send a strongly worded letter to the moon stating our intentions to visit it someday.

  12. Re:How do you give odds for that? by BrokenHalo · · Score: 2, Funny

    Guess I asked for that... ;-)

  13. Re:How do you give odds for that? by Gilmoure · · Score: 3, Funny

    Oh don't bring cats into it. Next thing you know, you're herding them (or not herding them) and either way, it's a big, fat, hairy mess.

    --
    I drank what? -- Socrates
  14. Re:How do you give odds for that? by Alex+Belits · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's not 1/404

    --
    Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
  15. Re:How do you give odds for that? by Renegade+Iconoclast · · Score: 1, Funny

    What do you mean I don't exist?

    If you existed, you'd know exactly what he meant by that.

    There, now you can disappear in a poof of logic.

  16. Re:How do you give odds for that? by bitrex · · Score: 2, Funny

    From my own personal, ah, experiments, I can only confirm the nonexistence of Xenu and possibly reincarnation.