[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/5855\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EFor Higgs and Englert, 50 years of patience pays off\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Nobel Committee in Stockholm announced on 8 October 2013 that the two European theoretical physicists would share the EUR 900 000 prize for \u2018the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles\u2019.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Higgs, 84, said in a statement released by the University of Edinburgh, where the Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics is based: \u2018I hope this recognition of fundamental science will help raise awareness of the value of blue-sky research.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBoth scientists, working independently, published in 1964 separate scientific articles related to the mechanism that governs mass in subatomic particles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Englert, 80, with his now deceased friend and colleague Professor Robert Brout, from the Brussels Free University, were the first to publish; Prof. Higgs did the same some weeks later.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAbout 20 years on, work started on the world\u2019s biggest particle smasher which would confirm their findings. The 27 kilometre Large Hadron Collider (LHC) under the border between Switzerland and France accelerates beams of particles using electric fields and then smashes them together to examine the basic particles that result from the impact.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThree years after the EUR 3 billion LHC was completed, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) announced that it had discovered a particle that might be the Higgs boson.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince then it has released new data that indicates the new particle is a Higgs boson.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018I hope this recognition of fundamental science will help raise awareness of the value of blue-sky research.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProf. Peter Higgs\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEuropean Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, M\u00e1ire Geoghegan-Quinn, congratulated both physicists, and paid tribute \u2018to the thousands of scientists who have worked tirelessly at CERN over many years to detect this elusive particle\u2019.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe European Union has supported the work at CERN through its research programme, while the European Investment Bank helped finance the construction of the LHC.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECERN is currently taking part in 95 projects under the EU\u2019s FP7 funding programme running from 2007 to 2013, with an EU contribution of more than EUR\u0026nbsp;100\u0026nbsp;million.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn Geneva, CERN Director-General Rolf Heuer said: \u2018The discovery of the Higgs boson at CERN last year, which validates the Brout-Englert-Higgs mechanism, marks the culmination of decades of intellectual effort by many people around the world.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBanana toast\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDespite Higgs and Englert being the favourites to win this year\u2019s prize, Englert told a news conference in Brussels that he at first believed he had not won because of a delay in announcing the result.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022img_legend\u0022 style=\u0022float: left;\u0022\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022A simulation of data produced during a collision on the LHC. Image courtesy of CERN.\u0022 height=\u0022190\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/9710002_05_1.jpeg\u0022 title=\u0022A simulation of data produced during a collision on the LHC. Image courtesy of CERN.\u0022 width=\u0022200\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EA simulation of data produced during a collision on the LHC. Image courtesy of CERN.\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003Cem\u003EA simulation of data produced during a collision on the LHC. Image courtesy of CERN.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELaureates typically receive a phone call from Stockholm an hour before the public announcement, but as Englert had not received a call he assumed he had not won.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018So, with my grandchildren, we decided that we should anyway have a party at home and that I was entitled to receive the prize of \u2026 the best banana toast maker of the family. I am quite good at making them actually,\u2019 Englert said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Nevertheless, shortly afterwards, I received a call from the Swedish Academy of Science and the official announcement took place. And I was of course really honoured and very happy, as you can imagine,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEven though the two scientists worked on the same problem, they never met until last year at a conference at CERN, where the LHC is located.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Next time I see him, I will of course congratulate him. Because I think he did important and excellent work,\u2019 Englert said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022moreinfoblock\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3\u003EWhat is a Higgs boson?\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EThe Higgs boson is a theoretical particle that gives other particles mass, according to the Standard Model of particle physics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to the Standard Model, which represents current understanding of how the basic building blocks of matter interact, basic particles need something to give them mass.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETheorists Robert Brout, Fran\u00e7ois Englert and Peter Higgs made a proposal that was to solve this problem. What we now call the Brout-Englert-Higgs mechanism gives a mass to some particles, known as bosons, when they interact with an invisible field, called the \u2018Higgs field\u2019, which is believed to pervade the universe.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-mvmfucpwg9shixirijw9luzzqltcis9e4tuzkhmiwpg\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-mVmFucpwG9SHIXirIjW9lUZzQlTCis9e4tuzKHmIWpg\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]