How Certain is the Higgs?




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Summary: This week on the podcast, we continue our discussion of uncertainty surrounding the Higgs. An announcement from CERN reported an "excess of particles" that could be a hint at the Higgs boson, the particle theorized to give matter mass. Reports on this subject state that the findings are a two sigma result, and a five sigma result would mean a definite discovery. But be warned! This is an oversimplification of the importance of sigma. Hear why, in this week's Physics Buzz podcast.