Teachers hopeful Higgs Boson news will boost physics interest

EMILY BOURKE: With Higgs Boson fever sweeping the world, science teachers are trying to work out just how they'll explain the breakthrough to their classes.

Late yesterday, the world's top particle physicists announced they'd discovered what they believe is the long debated sub-atomic particle, the Higgs Boson.

Researchers used one of the most expensive, largest scientific instruments ever built to smash atoms together at near light speeds.

The discovery has captivated scientists across the world, and science teachers hope their students will be inspired and take up physics in larger numbers. 

Will Ockenden reports.

WILL OCKENDEN: More than 40 years ago, an Edinburgh scientist came up with a theory that's now making front-page headlines across the world.

His original paper resulted in thousands of physicists dedicating large parts of their careers, and the expenditure of tens of billions of dollars, in the search for the elusive Higgs Boson.

The man who started the search, Peter Higgs, is surprised he is alive to see it. 

PETER HIGGS: At the beginning people had no idea about where to look for it so it is really amazing for me to find out that it is really enough, shall we say, enough for a discovery claim. 

WILL OCKENDEN: The announcement was made at a two-way seminar in Melbourne and Geneva. When the discovery was announced, it received rapturous approval.

(Audience applauding)

The highly scientific presentation was streamed online, perplexing all but highly educated particle physicists. 

SCIENTIST: W-Zeta-Higgs with Higgs to Bb bar, we dig this thing out of a huge background. 

WILL OCKENDEN: But now the real challenge begins - explaining it to students, the physicists of the future. 

Peter Russo from the Australian Science Teachers Association says the big questions about the universe is what will be filtering down to classrooms. 

PETER RUSSO: The thought of delving into the history of the Earth and how we came into being and how the whole universe came into being is really, really exciting and I think a lot of teachers will take that on board and work with students the possibility that this sort of discovery will lead to. 

WILL OCKENDEN: Peter Russo hopes the discovery will boost student interest in physics. 

PETER RUSSO: Throughout recent history when there has been a significant scientific event like man landing on the moon for example, that that has provided an incredible boost to not only the public's understanding of science and enthusiasm for science but students becoming more engaged with science. 

WILL OCKENDEN: One of the problems with teaching particle physics to students is explaining why the subject matters in everyday life. Other science subjects like biology and chemistry have obvious career pathways, whereas particle physics is abstract. 

Peter Russo says that can be overcome. 

PETER RUSSO: Our understanding of the universe is an important discovery because it enables us to understand the bigger picture and by understanding the bigger picture, we may be able to find solutions to things like climate change for an example. 

WILL OCKENDEN: Science teacher Raj Jararapna says his physics class will be very excited by the news.

RAJ JARARAPNA: They can experience the new stuff within their school time, it is not like some sort of like boring stuff which found many, many years ago and they are studying the work they found 100 years back. 

WILL OCKENDEN: The history of scientific discoveries is awash with examples of scientists stumbling onto the answer, or ideas being rejected as non-scientific nonsense. 

In autumn 1964, when Peter Higgs first sent his idea of the Higgs Boson to a leading physics journal run by CERN, it was rejected.

The editors reportedly said the paper was of no obvious relevance to physics.

This is Peter Higgs.

PETER HIGGS: I sent it off to Physics Letters whose editor was at CERN and they rejected it and at that point I thought maybe the paper was too short. 

WILL OCKENDEN: Peter Russo from the Australian Science Teachers Association says the Peter Higgs story is a great example for students.

PETER RUSSO: History is littered with examples of scientists and individuals who have put forward theories and ideas only to be rejected by the common understanding of the day. It is about putting forward a hypothesis, looking at developing tests and processes to test that hypothesis and then to move onto the next idea and thought. 

EMILY BOURKE: That is Peter Russo, the Australian Science Teachers Association's spokesman ending Will Ockenden's report.