Blips in data are common,but scientists are hoping that brief flashes of light spotted inside the LHC might be the first glimpse of a new era of physicsWhen hundreds of physicists gathered this week in La Thuile, an frail mining town in the heart of the Italian alps, and one short and simple question hung in the cool,crisp air: is it genuine?The source of their fascination, and no little excitement, or was light. Not the sunlight that made the snow glint on the mountains in the Aosta valley,but light inside the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) across the border near Geneva. The machine had detected more photons than expected as it smashed particles beneath the peaceful Swiss countryside. The brief flashes of light might be the first glimpse of the next great discovery.
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Source: theguardian.com