The world has changed since the Higgs-Boson particle was discovered. The idea that this little guy exists first arose all the way back in 1964 via British physicist Peter Higgs. You may have heard of it, but what exactly does this mean for us? Well for starters, if this particle didn’t exist, neither would you. The Higgs-Boson gives other particles mass, thereby creating matter. It’s a hard concept to grasp since it is something just as invisible as a proton or electron – but the same idea. Have we found our creator? Is the spirit of God inside this particle?
Thanks to CRN and $10 million dollar particle collider in Switzerland, the Higgs-Boson particle was detected and proven to exist. This is something deserving of parades and drunken celebrations all over the world. This is the discovery of a century, because it provides evidence towards many key theories in the world of physics that were based off of this yet-to-be-found particle. Most important of these is the theory of “supersymmetry” which states that all particles have a super partner with similar properties and dimensions, only a larger mass. Whilst the existance of H-G correlates with the theory of supersymmetry, some of the estimated numbers and dimensions don’t quite add up. Right now, it is unknown if this was because of a statistical error or if supersymmetry doesn’t work how we originally predicted. Supersymmetry might be completely down the tube after this, but disproving a theory can be just as, if not more, exciting than proving one. We’re still one small step closer to unlocking the secrets of the physical world.
Well, how did we find Higgsy? Did he just show up and say “hey, guys, here I am?!” A collider is exactly what it sounds like. It is a really large, underground, expensive machine that smashes protons together at JUST under the speed of light (hopefully one day we will catch up.) Colliders are meant to answer questions about what makes up our universe and hopefully detect more awesome unknown stuff – who else is hiding out there? Scientists are excited about the possibility of H-B to answer questions about dark matter and how our universe was formed.
How does the Higgs-Boson create matter? This particle has a field surrounding it named the “higgs field,” naturally. When other particles interact with this field energy is produced and mass is created, thereby creating matter. In the standard model, the higgs particle does not interact with all particles, but select ones that have the right properties.
I am a science obsessed freak of nature that spends her time researching stuff like this over college breaks, however physics is not my forte. BUT the discovery of the Higgs-Boson completely reshapes the scientific world. A creater of matter has been pinpointed with accurate proof, and that is something that everyone should be excited for – no matter what you’re interested in.