"Humpty-Dumpty" particle (Eggeron) discovered at CERN on April 1st, 2018

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Discussion Overview

The thread discusses the announcement of the discovery of the Eggeron, or "Humpty-Dumpty" particle, by the LHCb experiment at CERN. The conversation touches on the theoretical background, characteristics, and implications of this particle, as well as the humorous context surrounding its announcement on April 1st, 2018.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants highlight the significance of the Eggeron as a particle composed solely of gluons, which has been theoretically predicted for over forty years.
  • Others note the mass of the Eggeron, ##1.8 GeV/c^2##, and its decay into two photons, linking its properties to the name "Humpty Dumpty."
  • There are humorous references to the announcement being made on April 1st, suggesting skepticism about the seriousness of the discovery.
  • Some participants share jokes and humorous comparisons related to the particle and its name, indicating a light-hearted tone in parts of the discussion.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a mix of amusement and skepticism regarding the announcement, with some treating it as a serious scientific discovery while others question its validity due to the timing of the announcement. No consensus is reached on the seriousness of the discovery.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes references to humor and puns related to the Eggeron, which may affect the perceived seriousness of the scientific claims being made. The context of the announcement date raises questions about the authenticity of the discovery.

Wrichik Basu
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As per news from the CERN, the Eggeron or the "Humpty-Dumpty" particle has been discovered. Quoting from the news article:

The LHCb experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has announced the discovery of Eggeron ##\eta_{gg}##, familiarly known as the “Humpty Dumpty” particle, the smallest lump of nuclear glue.

Hard-boiled scientists herald it as the most important result in particle physics since the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012. Eggerons, theoretically predicted more than forty years ago, are particles of pure force, constituted only by gluons, the quanta of the strong nuclear force that holds together all matter (protons, neutrons and atomic nuclei).

The ##\eta_{gg}##, is formed of two gluons and has a mass of ##1.8 GeV/c^2##, about twice the mass of the proton, as predicted by a team of INFN theorists using lattice calculations. It lives for a very short time and then decays into two photons. This feature prompted the name “Humpty Dumpty” – inspired by the character in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, who falls from a wall and is irretrievably broken into pieces. The LHCb collaboration produced the ##\eta_{gg}##, by colliding high-energy heavy-ion beams: this generated a tiny region of extremely hot and gluon-rich material, which allowed ##\eta_{gg}##, to coagulate.

“It is an eggstraordinary result,” explains Giovanni Passalova, chief of the LHCb collaboration and INFN researcher. “It took us some time to unscramble the data but sunny-side up we cracked it. This result was not over easy to achieve and when we started to hunt for the ##\eta_{gg}##, we did not believe we could succeed. At one point, we were treading on eggshells to prevent other collaborations from poaching the data. But, at the end of the day, you can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs. Today, with the discovery of the ##\eta_{gg}##, we have finally opened up the path to the great unification between subatomic physics and molecular gastronomy”.

Read more about the experiment here.
 
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The LHCb webpage found even more eggscuses to include egg puns.
As April 1st is over in most of the world I added the date to the title.
 
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Lord Crc said:
Reminded me of the Ridiculon:

:DD ...
 
And of course we all know about the moron, right? The exchange particle that holds administratium together? :oldwink:
 
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I don't like eggs that much. I prefer the 2015 joke.
 
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