Higgs sure particle will be found

Peter Higgs, Emeritus Professor of Physics, has said he is sure that a theoretical particle which bears his name will be found.

The professor made the claim at a press conference after a visit to the CERN laboratories near Geneva.

Higgs said he was 90% sure that the particle would be found. He added that he would be “very, very puzzled” if it was not detected.

The Higgs boson particle was predicted by the theoretical physicist in the 1960s.

Now experiments at CERN are hoped to prove the particle's existence. Its discovery would fill a huge gap in the so-called Standard Model of particle physics.

Professor Higgs hopes the particle will be found before his 80th birthday in May 2009. “I shall ask my GP to keep me alive a little longer,” he joked.