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Insignificant but proud

The recent discovery(or not) of the Higgs Boson was an intense search which took roots 50 years before. The lab at CERN was commissioned only in 2010 and within two years of its inception, it has yielded fruits. Scientists at CERN are not even terming it an discovery, saying they have a long journey ahead of them to firmly establish the particle's identity. Even a 5 sigma, which means the fault will be one in  3.5 million chances , could not convince the scientists that it is indeed a Higgs Boson. This confirmation could take even longer since the lab is to be shut down for maintenance soon.


The first part of the particle's name is after the scientist who initially hypothesized its presence, Dr. Peter Higgs. The second part is of much importance to us Indians. It is named after the INDIAN scientist Satyendranath Bose. This is indeed an achievement for India. The West often forgets us during  moments of world-changing discoveries but we have nevertheless played an important role despite not getting due recognition.


Bose did not have it easy at first. His paper sent for publication was rejected. So he directly sent it to Albert Einstein who saw the importance of that paper. He translated it in German and got it published. Hence, the name Boson honouring Satyen Bose's contribution. So, the zero was not the only world-changing discovery by the Indians.

It feels proud to know that a particle named after an Indian is being hunted by the genius minds of the world for more than half a century now. 

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