{"id":6071,"date":"2012-03-07T13:54:25","date_gmt":"2012-03-07T13:54:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scienceblogs.com\/principles\/2012\/03\/07\/experimental-particle-physics\/"},"modified":"2012-03-07T13:54:25","modified_gmt":"2012-03-07T13:54:25","slug":"experimental-particle-physics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chadorzel.com\/principles\/2012\/03\/07\/experimental-particle-physics\/","title":{"rendered":"Experimental Particle Physics: Still Really Difficult"},"content":{"rendered":"

So, the news of the moment in high-energy physics is the latest results being reported from a conference in Europe<\/a>. The major experimental collaborations are presenting their newest analyses, sifting through terabyte-size haystacks of data looking for the metaphorical needle that is the Higgs boson.<\/p>\n

And what are those results? It sort of depends on who you ask. Tommaso Dorigo points at the final data from the Tevatron<\/a> and claims victory; Matt Strassler thinks the lack of evidence at the LHC is almost as important<\/a>, though there is progress there in excluding some new regions. The net result is a step of size dx<\/i> in the general direction of progress, but still a long way from anything conclusive. I think.<\/p>\n

My primary reaction to this is relief. I’m partly relieved that I’m not an experimental particle physicist, but mostly relieved that they didn’t<\/em> discover the Higgs in a way that would make me look foolish for not talking more about it in How to Teach Relativity to Your Dog<\/cite><\/a>. The current results make me feel better about being vague and equivocal about the Higgs in the book. And since this is my blog, the really important thing is how I<\/em> feel about the whole thing…<\/p>\n

Also, here’s me and Emmy talking about the canine version of particle physics, just because:<\/p>\n