( CNN ) -- `` Two professors , both alike in dignity , in fair Geneva where we lay our scene . '' When it is finally written , the story of one of the greatest scientific discoveries of our age may begin something like this . Last month , two eminent professors -- Peter Higgs and Francois Englert -- were jointly awarded one of science 's greatest honours : the Nobel Prize in Physics . The award came on the back of the dramatic announcement last year that the Large Hadron Collider ( LHC ) , based in Geneva , had made an astonishing discovery : a new particle , a Higgs Boson , had been comprehensively proven to exist . Physicists around the world rejoiced -- some wept openly . Years of speculation , theory and research had suddenly been validated . In typical Scandinavian understatement , Staffan Normark , permanent secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said `` This year 's prize is about something small that makes all the difference . '' The discovery came as a major puzzle piece in the way physicists understand the universe . The `` Standard Model '' of physics , which some regard as a `` theory of almost everything '' suffered from a significant `` missing link '' before the discovery of the Higgs Boson . Now there seemed to be a reason why particles have mass ; now we had a key to understanding our 4 % of the universe and perhaps access to understanding the other 96 % of the universe as well . But just as one set of answers were being revealed , more questions immediately presented themselves . CNN Labs spoke to some of the world 's top physicists about what the discovery of the Higgs Boson means , and what questions now need to be addressed . Joel Butler , a scientist at the prestigious Fermilab laboratory in Illinois said : `` The big question is why the Higgs ( particle ) , with a mass more than 100 times that of the proton , is so light . That question is not answered by our picture of the universe '' Jon Butterworth , Head of Physics and Astronomy at University College London , says that in his view : `` There are issues like what is dark matter ? ( And ) why is the universe mostly matter not antimatter ? '' Hitoshi Murayama , a professor of physics at UC Berkeley , says : `` The main question is this : we have never seen an elementary particle without spin . Electron , quarks , photon , etc all have spins ... The Higgs boson may actually have spin but it is spinning in extra dimensions of space we can not see . We really need to know the true nature and context of this newly discovered particle . '' To answer these questions the Large Hadron Collider will soon be joined by another massive experimental facility -- the International Linear Collider ( ILC ) . Like the LHC , the ILC will be a vast machine that stretches for miles beneath the earth . A site for the ILC has yet to be determined . The history of science is replete with machines that have helped scientists make significant breakthroughs , providing the kind of quantifiable , testable , reproducible data science requires to progress . From Marie Curie 's ionization chamber used in the discovery of spontaneous radioactivity , to Cathode ray tubes which led to the discovery of the electron , to Geiger counters and more recently the Large Hadron Collider , discoveries have come from equipment both big and small ; simple and complex . The ILC sits as the latest in a long line of machines designed to advance physics , but what exactly will it do that the LHC can not ? Tim Meyer , Head of Strategic Planning and Communications at TRIUMF , Canada 's national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics , says that it will be able to produce many more Higgs particles than the vast collider in Geneva , and will offer new levels of accuracy . `` The ILC will be able to study the Higgs precisely , '' he said . `` It will be a Higgs factory and will be able to make measurements of the Higgs ' properties with 3 % relative precision as opposed to the LHC 's 25 % relative precision , people believe ... The ILC could 'crack open the Higgs ' and reveal the mysteries of nature 's first spin-zero particle . '' Brian Foster , the European Regional Director for the International Linear Collider , says that it is not impossible that the vast machine could help us discover an overarching theory of everything . `` If we are lucky , the ILC can detect a whole new family of particles that might help us to realize Einstein 's dream of uniting all the theories of physics into one overarching and conceptually simple theory , '' Foster says . A decision to begin construction on the International Linear Collider is currently expected by 2015 . Monique Rivalland contributed to this article .
The new Linear Collider aims to ` ` discover an overarching theory of everything '' The vast new discovery will increase understanding of the Higgs particle , commonly known as the ` ` God " '' Research into the particle led to the awarding of this year 's Nobel Prize in Physics .