‘Who is Higgs? and what is a boson’?

Finding the Higgs would fill a massive gap in the Standard Model of particle physics, which describes the forces, particles and interactions that comprise the Universe.

Finding the Higgs would fill a massive gap in the Standard Model of particle physics, which describes the forces, particles and interactions that comprise the Universe.

Published Jul 11, 2012

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New Delhi - Indians are upset over what they see as a global snub against a scientist whose work underlies the recent Higgs boson particle breakthrough -though he was never directly involved.

Last week's announcement that scientists had all but proven the existence of the elusive subatomic particle led most media to run stories answering Who is Higgs? and What is a “boson”?

Few linked Calcutta-born physicist Satyendranath Bose beyond mentioning that boson particles are named for his 1920s work with Albert Einstein defining them as one of two basic classes of subatomic particles.

For India, it was seen as a snub too big to ignore.

The government issued a lengthy statement calling him “a forgotten hero.” Newspapers ran editorials lamenting yet another case of perceived snub against Indians. - Sapa-AP

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