The Higgs Boson and the Higgs Field

Discovery

The Higgs boson was discovered by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations at CERN in 2012. The discovery of the Higgs boson was a major milestone in particle physics, as it confirmed the existence of the Higgs field, which is a key component of the Standard Model of particle physics. The Higgs boson was first proposed in the 1960s by several physicists, including Peter Higgs, who the particle is named after. The Higgs boson is produced in high-energy particle collisions, such as those that occur at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. The discovery of the Higgs boson was a significant achievement for particle physics, as it confirmed the existence of the Higgs field and provided experimental evidence for the Standard Model of particle physics.

What is the Higgs Field?

The Higgs Field is, for sure, an essential component of particle physics. It is an invisible energy field that permeates the entire universe. Actually there is a misconception about the Higgs Boson and the Higgs Field. As we all know, “mass” is an abstract concept. In fact, when particles interact with the Higgs Field, particles gain inertia which prevents them from moving at the speed of light. This is what we call “mass”. The stronger the interaction between the particle and the Higgs Field, the bigger its mass. It’s that simple. Or is it?

Lucas Taylor / CERN, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Properties of the Higgs Boson

Well, this might be confusing but the Higgs Boson itself has a mass. It’s estimated to be 125 GeV (gigaelectronvolts) according to the LHC. This unit might be confusing so let’s write it in a simple way: 2.23E-10 kgs. Also, the Higgs Boson has a spin of 0. For those who wonder, spin is a quantum mechanical property that describes the intrinsic angular momentum of a particle. Higgs Boson has a very short lifetime before it decays into other particles. This makes it really hard to work on the Higgs Boson.

user:MissMJ, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

What is the significance of the Higgs Boson’s discovery?

The discovery of the Higgs Boson filled a crucial gap in the Standard Model, enhancing our understanding of how particles acquire mass.

Are there practical applications of the Higgs Boson discovery?

While the primary focus is on fundamental science, potential technological applications, such as medical imaging advancements, are being explored.

Sources

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2014/01/explaining-the-higgs/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higgs_mechanism
https://physics.aps.org/articles/v15/98

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