- Theoretical physicist Peter Higgs died in Edinburgh on Monday following a brief illness at age 94. Higgs predicted the existence of the Higgs boson in 1964. New Scientist (LR: 3 CP: 3)
- The 2013 Nobel Prize winner died "peacefully" at home, according to the University of Edinburgh, with the institution's Principal and Vice-Chancellor Sir Peter Mathieson describing Higgs' work as "pioneering." Sky News
- In the 1960s, Higgs proposed the existence of a field throughout the entire universe, giving it mass, and leading to an academic investigation into whether the field existed. BBC News
- The British scientist's theory was initially confirmed in 2012 by CERN, Europe's particle research organization, and Higgs was later awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in Oct. 2013. The Register
- Higgs has also won the Dirac medal in 1997, as well as the Wolf prize in 2004. The Higgs boson has been also described as the "God particle" — determining the rate at which the sun burns and therefore allowing life on Earth. Guardian (LR: 2 CP: 5)
- A memorial plaque honoring Professor Higgs' accomplishments on Roxburgh Street in Edinburgh marks the site where he initially conceived of the theory. The University of Edinburgh
Narrative A:
- Peter Higgs's life must be celebrated. Thanks to him, science has propelled in its exploration of the most fundamental questions of modern physics — even, perhaps, existence itself. An exceptional physicist and teacher, his work continues to allow deep insight into unexplored scientific realms. Higgs leaves behind a lasting legacy in the scientific community.
CERN
Narrative B:
- The Higgs boson was discovered in 2012. Since then, however, no new particles have been discovered at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. This has caused some scientific observers to worry if the heyday of the collider is now behind us. It remains to be seen if Higg's accomplishments will be seen as an apex of an era of discovery, or if new, more subtle lessons about the nature of the universe can be learned even if no more new particles are ever found.
NATURE
Nerd narrative:
- There's a 99% chance that the majority of leading cosmologists in 2030 will agree that the evidence points to an accelerating universe, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
METACULUS (LR: 3 CP: 3)