Have Scientists Found the 'God' Particle? | The Institute for Creation Research

Have Scientists Found the 'God' Particle?

Scientists from Europe's CERN research center presented evidence on Wednesday, July 4, 2012, for a particle that is likely the Higgs boson, the last remaining elementary particle predicted by the "Standard Model" of particle physics.1

Particles are thought to have mass due to their interaction with a quantity called the "Higgs field." The Higgs boson can be thought of as a "ripple" in this field.2

Although it has been nicknamed the "God particle," it is widely agreed that the name is more for publicity than accuracy, and many physicists do not like it.3 The Higgs mechanism does not miraculously create mass out of "nothing." Rather, the mass is transferred to the particle from the Higgs field, which contained this mass in the form of energy.4, 5 Thus, the Higgs mechanism does not account for the origin of mass in the ultimate sense.

If God chooses to use a Higgs field to set the masses of all particles, He can certainly do so. The fact that such physics is possible or even meaningful would only make sense in a created universe that is controlled by the mind of God anyway. The study of how God upholds the universe today is the very essence of science. So the possible discovery of the Higgs boson falls under operational science, not origins science.

We know readers are curious about this development. Stay tuned for more information!

References

  1. Wickham, C. and R. Evans. "It's a boson:" Higgs quest bears new particle. Reuters, July 4, 2012.
  2. Strassler, M. The Higgs FAQ 1.0. Of Particular Significance Blog. Posted on profmattstrassler.com, accessed July 5, 2012.
  3. Moskowitz, C. What Should 'God Particle' Be Renamed? Physicists Weigh In. LiveScience. Posted on livescience.com December 14, 2011, accessed July 5, 2012.
  4. Jammer, M. 2000. Concepts of Mass in Contemporary Physics and Philosophy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 163.
  5. Because of Einstein's famous equation E = mc2, energy has mass.

* Dr. Hebert is Research Associate at the Institute for Creation Research and Dr. Lisle is Director of Physical Sciences at the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted on July 6, 2012.

The Latest
NEWS
Designed Deep-sea Vertebrates
Creationists marvel that God has designed creatures both small and big to inhabit a variety of punishing habitats. These examples include the bacteria...

CREATION.LIVE PODCAST
Beauty for Beauty's Sake! | Creation.Live Podcast: Episode 17
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? Or is beauty an objective standard? Where do our ideas of beauty even come from?   Hosts...

NEWS
Fire Sensory Capabilities of the Venus Flytrap
Fascinating discoveries have been made regarding the amazing Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula).1 For example, all parts of this amazing plant...

CREATION PODCAST
What Really Swallowed Jonah? | The Creation Podcast: Episode...
The book of Jonah contains the historical account of the prophet Jonah. In verse 17 of chapter 1, the text states that the Lord prepared a great...

NEWS
More Flood Evidence
Paleontologists recently discovered the partial fossils of two new species of dinosaur just outside of Casablanca. As stated in a Science Direct article,...

NEWS
New York Times Editorial: Big Bang Unraveling?
Two physicists have suggested in a recent New York Times guest editorial that Big Bang cosmology ‘may be starting to unravel.’1...

NEWS
Your Functional ''Yolk Sac''
For decades, evolutionists pointed to dozens of ‘useless artifacts’ of the human body to make their questionable case for evolution. But...

NEWS
The Beauty of Creation: Created for God’s Own Glory
Have you ever wondered why a sunset on a beach is captivating, snowcapped mountains are breathtaking, and a valley filled with wildflowers is enchanting? Scripture,...

CREATION PODCAST
Devastating, Dangerous, and Deadly Bacteria? | The Creation Podcast:...
Bacteria are everywhere! While we can't see them with the naked eye, these little critters are everywhere, even in and on your body! Some of...

NEWS
Pre-Flood Reptile Fossil Discovered With Baleen
Baleen whales (suborder Mysticeti) are amazing filter-feeding mammals of the sea. They belong to a group called the Cetacea. Evolutionists suggest they...