These are superpositions of ones and zeros and are represented by, for example, the direction of spin (with respect to a magnetic field) of a particle such as an electron.

ECONOMIST: Quantum computing

The particle is a component of something called the Higgs field, which permeates our universe.

CNN: Scientists more certain that particle is Higgs boson

The probe is traveling so fast that a particle the size of a BB could destroy it, so researchers are worried about the broad debris field that Pluto's moons may have spawned.

MSN: New Pluto moon hints at perilous journey for spacecraft

The consensus among physicists is that particles began massless and got their mass subsequently from something known as the Higgs field the search for which was one reason for building the Large Hadron Collider, a huge and powerful particle accelerator located near Geneva.

ECONOMIST: Cosmology