Among other fascinating insights, Penrose explains that the God particle was originally proposed by Peter Higgs as "an ingenious theoretical device, and not necessarily appearing as an actual particle. As a device, it allowed other particles to acquire mass,[…]."

The first thing you learn when you ask scientists about the God particle is that it′s bad form to call it that.

To his contemporaries, his desperation seemed like a search for the "God particle," something seen as daft, even obstructionist.

God particle

Meaning

Noun