Science: On the Trail of the Bashful W

Reporting the discovery of a much sought elementary particle

As the shirtsleeved, tousled-haired physicist bounded across the platform, he unleashed his ideas in staccato bursts and gesticulated with the verve of a maestro. "You have to pardon Carlo," said a colleague. "He's a little high-strung these days." With good reason. Using one of the world's most powerful atom smashers, Italy's Carlo Rubbia, 48, and his team of 134 European and American scientists appear to have snared a trophy that has been the dream of physicists for two generations: discovery of the so-called W particle,...

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