Scientists announce discovery of Higgs boson, the 'God particle'

Washington Post:

A half-century scientific quest culminated early Wednesday as physicists announced the discovery of a new subatomic particle ' one theorized to be so fundamental that without it, nothing could exist.

Dubbed the Higgs boson ' or the 'God particle,' to the chagrin of scientists ' the particle is thought to create a sort of force field that permeates the universe, imbuing everything that we can see and touch with the fundamental property known as mass.

'As a layman I now say, I think we have it,' said Rolf-Dieter Heuer, director general of CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, immediately after physicists presented compelling evidence for the new particle at a seminar in Geneva.

'Do you agree?' he asked the several hundred scientists packing CERN's main auditorium.

Applause broke out. The video feed from CERN showed Peter Higgs, the University of Edinburgh physicist who theorized the existence of this exotic particle in 1964, tearing up.

3:57 AM PT: There's more here in a recommended diary by Daily Kos community member science.