Higgs Boson discovery video leaked from the CERN (VIDEO)
The Large Hadron Collider, described as the most complex scientific project yet conducted, relies on the world’s biggest superconducting solenoid magnet.
The Higgs Boson particle may have been discovered, according to a video leaked on Tuesday by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) a day before their findings were scheduled to be announced.
The Higgs Boson, also known as the God Particle, would account for all of the unexplained mass in the universe, as Wired succinctly explained.
The particle described in the CERN video is possibly the Higgs, or possibly a newfound particle which has a mass that's around 130 times that of a photon, which would make it the most massive particle to ever exist, LiveScience reported.
More from GlobalPost: New particle discovered via the Large Hadron Collider
Two teams of scientists — from the ATLAS (A Toroidal LHC Apparatus) and CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) experiments — have been working with the CERN's proton-smashing Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to determine why things in our universe have mass, and by extension, why we exist, National Geographic reported.
The main purpose of the $10 billion Large Hadron Collider, which was started up almost four years ago, is to discover the Higgs Boson, according to LiveScience.
In the video, CMS spokesperson Joe Incandela hints strongly at the discovery of the Higgs Boson or an equally important particle, the Telegraph reported.
"We've observed a new particle … we have quite strong evidence that there's something there" in the expected mass range for the Higgs boson, said Incandela. "This is the most massive such particle that exists, if we confirm all of this—which I think we will."
More from GlobalPost: Higgs boson: Closing in on the “God particle” (VIDEO)
The CERN, however, told journalists that the video was one of several they had made for different possible outcomes of the experiments, "as though it's a presidential election and they've written one speech for victory and one for defeat," wrote the Telegraph's Tom Chivers.
"We have recorded several videos in advance and it was a mistake that this one went live," the CERN said in a statement, according to the Telegraph. "We pre-recorded interviews with spokesmen from both experiments [CMS and Atlas] but this went live on the internet due to a technical fault."
The results of the experiment are to be officially announced on Wednesday, July 4.
The article you just read is free because dedicated readers and listeners like you chose to support our nonprofit newsroom. Our team works tirelessly to ensure you hear the latest in international, human-centered reporting every weekday. But our work would not be possible without you. We need your help.
Make a gift today to help us reach our $25,000 goal and keep The World going strong. Every gift will get us one step closer.