The mass of the W boson

Blob · #1 (**permalink**) 09-January-2007, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Scientists from around the World, including the UK, participating in the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) collaboration at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois announced today (8 January, 2007) the world's most precise measurement by a single experiment of the mass of the W boson, the carrier of the weak nuclear force and a key parameter of the Standard Model of particles and forces.
The new W-mass value leads to an estimate for the mass of the yet-undiscovered Higgs boson that is lighter than previously predicted, in principle making observation of this elusive particle more likely by experiments at the Tevatron particle collider at Fermilab.

Scientists measured the mass of the W boson to be 80,413 ± 48 MeV/c², determining the particle's mass with a precision of 0.06 percent.

Jim · #2 (**permalink**) 09-January-2007, 02:57 PM

That's one very accurate bathroom scale! (Are they sure the W didn't have one foot on the floor?)

Blob · #3 (**permalink**) 09-January-2007, 03:01 PM

Hum,
indeed, a tip is to weigh the boson naked.

Jim · #4 (**permalink**) 09-January-2007, 05:02 PM

I don't get naked without dinner and drinks first.

snarkophilus · #5 (**permalink**) 09-January-2007, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim

I don't get naked without dinner and drinks first.

Well, that's easier than getting the W all alone.

On the other hand, I think getting W's weight is still easier than getting a woman's (sometimes massaging the data helps). Plus, you don't need to add 5% for true accuracy.

Peter Wilson · #6 (**permalink**) 12-January-2007, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim

That's one very accurate bathroom scale! Are they sure the W didn't have one foot on the floor?

The quoted value is W's dry weight. After dinner and drinks, it weighs more, but paradoxically is harder to detect

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