The Higgs  DISCOVERY CONFIRMED(WASH POST)  fundamental to the universe  . The particle is thought to create a sort of force field that permeates the cosmos and imbues other particles with the property known as mass — the resistance to being shoved around.




Actively hunted since the 1970s, the Higgs is the final major piece of the Standard Model, which for physics is the equivalent of chemistry’s periodic table.



“To the layman I now say, I think we have it,” said Rolf-Dieter Heuer, director general of CERN.



“Do you agree?” he asked the crowd.



Applause broke out.



“We have a discovery,” Heuer said. “We have discovered a new particle consistent with the Higgs boson. It’s a historic milestone today.”



The scientists at CERN then stood and cheered for a full minute.



The Geneva announcement was a global event, observed in every time zone. Scientists gathered at 3 a.m. Eastern in universities and laboratories across the United States to watch the webcast.