God Particle

     God Particle is the title of a book written by Nobel laureate Leon Lederman. It became a nickname for the Higgs boson, a newly discovered particle which was predicted in 1964 by professor Peter Higgs, University of Edinburgh. He predicted that the universe does not consist of empty space but that it consists of a field of particles that permeates and shapes all the varieties of existence. 
     The discovery was made public on July 4, 2012 by CERN scientists working at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.  The announcement resulted in splashy headlines around the world including this one: God Particle May Shed Light On Dark Matter.
     Some writers and movie makers suggested that the experiments at CERN using the Large Hadron Collider would blow up the Vatican and destroy the world.
     This has not happened, thank God.
     Following the initial announcement, several follow-up reports from unidentified staff members at CERN are capturing the public interest. Catholic clergymen at the Vatican are especially interested. Sensitive CERN magnetic resonance amplifiers have detected images of God on the tiny Higgs bosons within the collider. But that's not all. These reports show that the God Particle image has relatives--angels, prophets and a virgin mother. There may be other images. The Vatican and the Church of England have requested a full scientific report. 
     Despite the excitement generated around the world, an Italian newspaper reported that CERN management was unimpressed with the conduct of its employees. The newspaper alleged that boson bath salts were discovered outside the "clean area" of the collider. The newspaper also claimed that CERN management ordered psychiatric and drug examinations for all staff involved in the unauthorized follow-up reports. CERN is also preparing an official apology to the Vatican and Church of England, according to the same newspaper.
     Additional information about this potentially embarrassing situation and the Higgs boson may or may not be found at: http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/04/what-in-the-world-is-a-higgs-boson/?emc=eta1
     For a short commentary on Higgs boson, read V.V. Raman's A Few Thoughts on the God Particle: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20120717/OPINION02/120716006/A-few-thoughts-God-Particle?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Home|s