Peter Higgs, daddy of the Higgs boson, dies at 94

In a world dominated by instant gratification, Peter Higgs, who died earlier this week, had to wait more than half of his 94-year lifetime to see his theoretical predictions confirmed, thereby changing our understanding of the universe. Born in Northeast England in 1929, Higgs, who passed away today, first proposed a particle …

[Alien Doctor 1.1]

I remember the moment the discovery was announced and Peter shed a couple of tears, it was so great to his humble reaction to having his theory finally proven.

[tony72]

A great man for sure

His loss is really going to weigh on my mind.

[Neil Barnes]

Where's Higgs?

I was always reminded of Tom Stoppard... the whole 'where's Higgs' bit seemed to fit so well to the search for the particle.

A pint in his memory!

[Jedit]

"A pint in his memory!"

I would also pour one out for the man. However, I have not yet been able to discover the Higgs Beerson, so will have to settle for the icon.

[Sam not the Viking]

Re: "A pint in his memory!"

I have Lepton the bandwagon and encourage your search for the fundament particles.

With the highest regard to Mr Higgs --->

[Michael Strorm]

"The particle bearing his name lives on"

I should hope so- given that everything around us depends on the Higgs Boson for its existence, we'd all be in very serious trouble if it didn't.

[ldo]

“That Goddamn Particle”

It was apparently a publisher or editor who suggested the name “god particle”, as a euphemism for “goddamn particle”. The resulting religious/mystical connotations were entirely spurious.

[Winkypop]

Re: “That Goddamn Particle”

Not the first time the church has latched onto science in a (misguided) bid to underscore their claims.

[JDX]

Re: “That Goddamn Particle”

I don't recall the church latching onto it. We have that famous quote "God doesn't play dice" as well but I don't think many sermons were penned damning quantum mechanics.

But then one of the leadership team in my charismatic church of the time was a world-renowned astrophysicist and maybe nobody dared say anything lest she corrected their misunderstanding!

[Jumbotron64]

He has returned to the field that is named after him.

[nemecystt]

Serendipity

I still find it one of the most remarkable coincidences in physics history that it was Peter Higgs who discovered the Higgs Boson. Almost like pre-destiny. I mean, Watt are the odds?

[Ian Johnston]

Re: Serendipity

Almost as much of a fluke as Lou Gehrig dying from Lou Gehrig's Disease.

[Jonathan Richards 1]

I have no idea...

...whether Prof. Higgs had any sort of religious affilitations, but surely someone should say mass.