Evidence of 'God particle' found … Physicists say they have all but proven that the "God particle" exists. They have a footprint and a shadow, and the only thing left is to see for themselves the elusive subatomic particle believed to give all matter in the universe size and shape. Scientists at the world's biggest atom smasher plan to announce Wednesday that they have nearly confirmed the primary plank of a theory that could restructure the understanding of why matter has mass, which combines with gravity to give an object weight. – AP

Dominant Social Theme: The God particle is back.

Free-Market Analysis: We've written a number of articles about the electric universe because it's such an elegant theory and because the theory of gravitational physics keeps collapsing, in our view.

Yes, while it surely is collapsing under its own weight and complexity, that doesn't stop its proponents from using it as a larger frame of reference for various "discoveries." In this case, physicists claim to have discovered traces of the infinitely tempting "God particle" that would apparently prove part of gravitational physics to be correct.

What's amazing, however, is that one only need look at photos of swirling nebulae to discern electrical patterns in the sky. These systems apparently mimic patterns found in nature that are electrically charged. But that doesn't stop those who make a living supporting gravitational physics. They keep plugging away, explaining as they go. Here's some more from the article:

The idea is much like gravity and Isaac Newton's discovery: It was there all the time before Newton explained it. But now scientists know what it is and can put that knowledge to further use.

The focus of the excitement is the Higgs boson, a subatomic particle long sought by physicists.

Researchers at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, say that they have compiled vast amounts of data that show the footprint and shadow of the particle, even though it has never actually been glimpsed.

But two independent teams of physicists are cautious after decades of work and billions of dollars spent. They don't plan to use the word "discovery." They say they will come as close as possible to a "eureka" announcement without overstating their findings.

"I agree that any reasonable outside observer would say, `It looks like a discovery,'" said British theoretical physicist John Ellis, a professor at King's College London who has worked at CERN since the 1970s. "We've discovered something which is consistent with being a Higgs."

If in fact these intrepid researchers have found the Higgs, we would still point out respectfully that it probably won't make a lot of difference in the long run. There are so many anomalies when it comes to gravitational physics that it is hard to keep track of it all.

One of the articles we posted about a year ago had to do with evidence for an electric comet that explained what normal physics could not. You can see the article here: "Comets Support Evidence of the Electrical Universe."

Here's another one: "Infinitesimal Triumphs at Cern."

One wonders if the funding season is upon Cern. This has all the earmarks of a story that is "to be continued" during the next budgetary season. It's a kind of scientific cliffhanger based on sub-atomic particles hurled by a $10 billion atom smasher known as the Large Hadron Collider.

The instrument itself makes us suspicious. The very bigness of this kind of physics seems to us to guarantee that little or nothing of note will be accomplished in the long run. We're more comfortable with the amateurs posting online about electrical phenomena in the sky that explains things far more clearly than gravitational physics ever can.

Officially, CERN is presenting its evidence this week at a physics conference in Australia but plans to accompany the announcement with meetings in Geneva. The two teams, known as ATLAS and CMS, then plan to publicly unveil more data on the Higgs boson at physics meetings in October and December. Each of the teams involves thousands of people working independently to ensure accuracy.

Sean M. Carroll, a California Institute of Technology is quoted in the article as saying that if both ATLAS and CMS have independently concluded that evidence shows the Higgs boson exists, then "only the most curmudgeonly will not believe that they have found it."

Okay, perhaps so. But from our point of view, one particle more or less is not going to deconstruct the burgeoning theory of an electrical universe. Big Science doesn't smell right, in our humble view. We'll stick with individual human action.