https://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=1694
Higgs Boson—The “God Particle”? (2nd Update)
[EDITOR’S NOTE: A.P. staff scientist Dr. Miller holds a Ph.D. from
Auburn University in Mechanical Engineering with emphases in Thermal
Science and Biomechanics.]
[NOTE—For the original article and a previous update, see Higgs Boson—The "God Particle"? and Higgs Boson—The "God Particle"? (Update), respectively]
We have been closely monitoring the progress of the search for the
elusive “Higgs Boson” particle—presumptuously dubbed the “God Particle”
by many scientists (see
Miller, 2011a and
Miller,
2011b for previous discussion). The hunt has been a roller coaster
ride, with scientists thinking they have found the particle and then
changing their minds time and again. The Higgs Boson particle is
“thought to be the fundamental unit of matter” (“Has Quest for the
Elusive…?” 2011). In theory, it could explain how other elementary
particles have mass. The particle is a theoretical elementary particle
that is predicted by the Standard Model of particle physics, but which
had yet to be observed by physicists through experimentation, until
now—or so scientists hope.
 |
Scientists awaiting the latest update
in the search for the Higgs Boson at the European Organization for
Nuclear Research, July 4, 2012.
[Image credit Associated Press, 2012] |
On July 4, 2012, scientists sent shockwaves through the world as they
announced that they believe, with well over 99% certainty, that they
have found the Higgs Boson particle using the Large Hadron Collider
(LHC), a particle accelerator located in Switzerland (“The Elusive
Particle…,” 2012; see
May,
2012 for more information on the LHC). How significant is this find to
the believer? If there is a “God Particle,” does that mean the “Big
Bang” is true? Does it mean that this particle can create matter? Does
it mean that there is no God?
 |
| The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), located in Switzerland |
Why do many call it the “God Particle”? Technically, according to the
National Post,
the name “God Particle” is an abbreviated form of its original, profane
designation—“The God-d*** Particle” (a name used by Nobel physicist
Leon Lederman as a draft title for a book), referring to the
frustrations scientists have been going through trying to find the Higgs
Boson. So, it actually had nothing to do with God. Apparently, however,
the name was abbreviated to “The God Particle” to avoid offending
readers—as though the abbreviated description is any less profane
(“Higgs Boson Hunt Over…,” 2012). The result of this name designation
has been to give the impression that the particle is “God-like” and
somehow eliminates the necessity of a God in creating the Universe,
while substantiating the Big Bang Theory. So, to Big Bang-believers
today, the Higgs Boson is not just an energy particle which they believe
gives an object its mass, but rather, it is “a theoretical energy
particle which many scientists believe helped give mass to
the disparate matter spawned by the Big Bang” (“Scientists Close In…,” 2010, emp. added). Big Bang theorists consider its existence “crucial to
forming
the cosmos after the Big Bang” (2010, emp. added). Therefore, the
particle is “god-like” to such sadly deluded individuals, since it, in
theory, “gives mass” and helped “form” the cosmos.
 |
Former CERN director general
Christopher Llewelyn-Smith, standing left, Lyn Evans, scientific
director, standing second left, Herwig Schopper, standing center,
Luciano Maiani, standing second right, and Robert Aymard, standing
right, wave after the presentation of results during a scientific
seminar to deliver the latest update in the search for the Higgs Boson.
[Image credit Associated Press, 2012] |
In reality, the existence of the Higgs Boson in no way eliminates the
need for God. Consider the following. In the 1600s, Creation scientist
Isaac Newton, after observing an apple falling to the ground, “deduced
that the same force which caused the apple to fall to the ground causes
the moon to orbit the Earth” (Pinaire, 2000). From this concept, in
time, Newton formally articulated what we now call “Newton’s Laws of
Motion,” the second of which says, in essence, that the
force an object applies is equal to its
mass multiplied by its
acceleration.
So, an object’s weight on the Earth (i.e., “applied force” on the
Earth) is equal to its mass times its acceleration (i.e., the
acceleration due to gravity at the location where the object is on the
Earth). Question: By discovering gravity, did Newton discover the “God
Force” that keeps humans tied to the Earth? Did he disprove the need for
God? Certainly not, and no one even suggested such an idea. He merely
discovered one of the characteristics of the created order—one of the
“ordinances” that God set up to have “dominion over the Earth” (Job
38:33).
 |
| A di-photon event from a Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment in
search of the Higgs Boson. Also, the purpose of studying LHC particle
collision events, according to teh European Organization of Nuclear
Research (CERN). |
According to Rolf Heuer, the director of the European Organization for
Nuclear Research (CERN) (the research center that houses the LHC),
whether or not scientists have truly discovered the Higgs Boson still
needs to be verified. Heuer said, “It’s a bit like spotting a familiar
face from afar. Sometimes you need closer inspection to find out whether
it’s really your best friend, or your best friend’s twin” (“Higgs Boson
Hunt Over…,” 2012). Assuming the find truly is what it purports to be,
the particle will simply be another step in expanding our understanding
of how God set up the Universe. Newton discovered that force is equal to
mass times acceleration. But the logical next step is to answer
questions like, “How is there mass? What gives an object mass?” If
scientists’ theory is correct, the Higgs Boson will simply help shed
light on those questions—i.e., how did God set up the Universe in such a
way that an object has mass? In other words, the Higgs Boson may help
us to understand more about how God “framed” “the worlds”—showing us
more about how “the things which are seen were not made of things which
are visible” (Hebrews 11:3).
Also, the existence of the Higgs Boson in no way violates the First Law
of Thermodynamics (i.e., creating energy or matter from nothing).
In nature, nothing can be created or destroyed, but can only change forms, according to the First Law of Thermodynamics (
Miller, 2007). So, only a
Supernatural force can create something out of nothing. The Higgs Boson particle is not God.
And further, the existence of the Higgs Boson in no way disproves the
existence of God. Someone had to create the Higgs Boson in the first
place. And the existence of the Higgs Boson in no way verifies the Big
Bang Theory, which is riddled with problems—as atheistic scientists
themselves highlight frequently (see, for example, the recent article in
New Scientist titled, “Bang Goes the Theory” [Gefter, 2012]).
As stated above, evolutionists consider the existence of the Higgs Boson “crucial to forming the cosmos
after the Big Bang”
(“Scientists Close In…,” 2010, emp. added). Notice that without the
existence of this particle, Big Bang theorists recognize that the
Universe
could not even form after the Big Bang theoretically occurred. Its existence does
not prove that the Universe
did form in the manner suggested by the Big Bang Theory. Its existence does not even prove that the Universe
could form after a hypothesized Big Bang occurred. Further, its existence does not prove that the Big Bang itself
could occur at all. Its existence
does not prove
that matter could exist forever or pop into existence out of nothing,
either one of which must be true in order for the Big Bang even to get
started. And its existence certainly does not prove that the scientific
laws governing the Universe could
write themselves into existence. However, without the existence of the particle, theorists know that fundamental tenets of the Big Bang Theory
could not happen. It’s another thing to say that they
could happen. Thus, the discovery of the particle’s existence
does not prove anything
in the end, but only allows atheistic cosmologists to cross one of the
many chasms that stand in the way of their theory even getting to the
starting line in being considered a
remote possibility.
In other words, the Big Bang has not even reached square one in the
realm of proof. It remains firmly in the realm of impossibility. Bottom
line: the Creation model still stands as the most logical explanation
for the origin of the Universe—the model that is in keeping with
all the scientific evidence.
Much more is missing in the quest to substantiate the Big Bang than a
little particle can solve, and the list of those missing entities
continues to grow, and will continue to do so, until true
science—science that is in keeping with the evidence—is allowed to
flourish. It has become increasingly popular for cosmologists to label
many of these missing “somethings” with the first word, “Dark.” The list
of “dark,” missing entities is growing. In truth, if the scientific
community would only let the “light” of truth into the picture, the
darkness would disappear.
REFERENCES
“The Elusive Particle: 5 Implications of Finding Higgs Boson” (2012),
Fox News, July 5, http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/07/05/elusive-particle-5-implications-finding-higgs-boson/.
Gefter, Amanda (2012), “Bang Goes the Theory,”
New Scientist, 214[2871]:32-37, June 30.
“Has Quest for the Elusive ‘God Particle’ Succeeded?” (2011),
Fox News, April 25, http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/04/25/quest-elusive-god-particle-succeeded/?test=faces.
“Higgs Boson Hunt Over: CERN Scientists at Large Hadron Collider Find ‘God Particle’” (2012),
National Post,
July 4,
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/07/04/higgs-boson-hunt-over-cern-scientists-at-large-hadron-collider-find-god-particle/.
May, Branyon (2012), “Is the Large Hadron Collider a Big Bang Machine?”
Reason & Revelation, 32[4]:38-45, April,
http://www.apologeticspress.org/apPubPage.aspx?pub=1&issue=1026.
Miller, Jeff (2007), “God and the Laws of Thermodynamics: A Mechanical Engineer’s Perspective,”
Reason & Revelation, 27[4]:25-31, April,
http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/3293.
Miller, Jeff (2011a), “Higgs Boson–the ‘God Particle’?”
Reason & Revelation, 31[6]:53,
http://www.apologeticspress.org/apPubPage.aspx?pub=1&issue=977&article=1500.
Miller, Jeff (2011b), “Higgs Boson–Update,”
Reason & Revelation, 31[10]:101,
http://www.apologeticspress.org/article/4120.
Pinaire, Chris (2000), “Isaac Newton,” Wichita State University
Department of Mathematics and Statistics,
http://www.math.twsu.edu/history/Men/newton.html.
“Scientists Close In on God Particle” (2010),
Fox News, July 27, http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/07/27/scientists-closing-god-particle/.
[Editor’s
Note: The following article was written by A.P. scientist Dr. May, who
holds a B.S. degree in Physics from Angelo State University, as well as
M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Astrophysics from the University of Alabama.]