La búsqueda del principio, un camino sin fin

Abstract

En 1914, the explorer Ernest Shackleton placed an ad: “Men sought for a dangerous trip, low pay, penetrating cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, doubtful you will return save and sound; in the event of success, honor and recognition”. The goal was to cross the South Pole. Although the expedition failed, it is considered to be one of the greatest epic adventures of the 20th century. Exactly 100 years later, some 50 scientists have completed an experiment – the BICEP2 – after spending several winters on the South Pole in total darkness. The results of this experiment, if confirmed, will reveal like nothing else has before the instant when our universe was born. Meanwhile, several thousand engineers and scientists are preparing the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to carry out a new round of experiments in 2014, with the hope of solving the mystery remaining after detection of the Higgs boson. Both experiments should further the search for a final theory that explains how we have gotten where we are, but the surprises found on the way will open up new question marks