Only two of the seven detectors at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN are dedicated to this task, the ATLAS and the CMS, which are located on opposite sides of the LHC's large 26.7 kilometer (16.6 mile) loop. In October both detectors showed matching preliminary positive results. The evidence, though, was below the 5σ (1 in 3 million) threshold to claim a discovery. (σ is a standard deviation; 5σ is a very very large deviation from the norm and used to prevent treating an accidental result as a discovery.) In June 2012 new data was compiled with the previous data, and, as finally released on July 4, showed "discoveries" from both the ATLAS and CMS detectors/experiments. The particle detected has a consistent high mass-energy of ~125 gigaelectronvolt, which is about 133 times heavier than the mass of a proton. Nonetheless, even this data is not complete enough to confirm that the new particle has all of the predicted effects of the Higgs boson, though it's cautiously believed that will bear out.
Scientific American has two excellent videos on the science involved here. First, here's a video on how the LHC works by accelerating and smashing protons together. Yes, pretty much everybody not under the aforesaid rock already knows this, but this is still nicely done, and no particles were (intentionally) harmed in making the video. [Ed. Making the video did, however, contribute to the heat death of the Universe.] Second, here's a really good video on what the Higgs boson is:
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