It's Official! Higgs Boson has been identified

[Buckocaster51]

Watching a CERN webcast now.

(I see nobody in the crowd at the lecture hall wearing cargo shorts...)

[Justinvs]

Coolness!

Now they can quit messing around with all that God particle stuff and get back to important experiments, like ramming two Hot Wheels car into each other at near lightspeed. Now that would be interesting!

[Scotland]

Originally Posted by Buckocaster51

Watching a CERN webcast now.

(I see nobody in the crowd at the lecture hall wearing cargo shorts...)

Okay, so what's the next step ? ? ?

[PeteMac]

Let the fun begin !!!










( and I want my hoverboard !!! )

[homesick345]

Next step? Flying cars

[banjohabit]

yes. if truly confirmed, this is only the beginning of discovery, which will doubtless lead to another "beginning of discovery" in the future, near or far.

for what has been discovered is not a particle, though that is what has been observed. it is the knowledge of that particle that is the discovery. answer me this: at what point will knowledge end ?

pretty exciting stuff though !

[maryjane]

well, if they believe there's a "god particle", mustn't it follow that there's a "satan particle"?

[e-merlin]

Originally Posted by Buckocaster51

(I see nobody in the crowd at the lecture hall wearing cargo shorts...)

Yeah, but what's the pocket protector count?

[e-merlin]

Originally Posted by maryjane

well, if they believe there's a "god particle", mustn't it follow that there's a "satan particle"?

No, but there probably is a Stan particle.

[andrenighthound]

Can somebody fill me in?

[Slow Reflexes]

"It is very much a smoking duck that walks and quacks like the Higgs." - Dr. Oliver Buchmueller.

I think the announcement is worthwhile just for having provided that quote.

[maccampbells]

Originally Posted by maryjane

well, if they believe there's a "god particle", mustn't it follow that there's a "satan particle"?

This will certainly be found in dark matter.

[colorado]

It is really hard to explain. At the very small level (subatomic), things do not appear to work in the way they do at our size level. But the FACT is that actually we do WORK the same exact way the subatomic world works. There is only one way the world works and something called the Standard Model of Physics describes that.

I know Standard Model does not sound very exciting but it is the most accurate and predictive model of how things work that human beings have ever created. Parts of the stndard model have been tested to 1 part in a trillion. The Standard Model is possibly the most monumental acheivement of humankind. That you (and many more) may not know what the Standard Model is, is a testment to a grand failure of education around the world.

Anyway the Higgs is a prediction of the Standard Model that involves a quantum field (Higgs) that other "particles" interact with by various amounts. Interact means to exchange particles (in this case bosons) hence the Higgs Boson.

For example, a force interaction that we all love is the electromagnetic force. The "force" is a quantum field and when particles (electrons in the pickup poles and strings) interact with the field "the force" moves the electrons and "rawk" happens. The way the force is transmitted is by an exchange of photons which are the particle expression of the electromagnetic quantum field (photons are also what make up light which is why we call light an "electomagnetic" wave). Photons are bosons, particles of light.

Higgs is the same kind of thing but instead of producing "rawk" it produces mass. Think of it like this. The Higgs field permeates the entire universe.

There are three particles with mass that make up EVERYTHING we see - the up and down quark and the electron. That's it! If that weren't amazing enough there are only four forces - electromagnetic, weak and strong nuclear and gravity. And that is pretty much the whole enchilada.

Well except for the Higgs foce. For example, photons do not interact with the Higgs field so they zip along at the speed of light and have no mass. The more you interact with the Higgs the more mass you have.

So if lets say an electron moves through the Higgs field. As it does, it is constantly exchaning particles (the Higgs Boson) as it moves through the field (just like a pickup and guitar string exchange photons). That slows it down.

An analogy: Say you and a buddy are running next to each other at top speed. Then I say you have to pass a basketball between each other 10 times as you run. That would slow you down. If I said you had to pass it 100 times that would slow you down even more.

That's the Higgs the more a particle interacts (exchange particles) the slower it goes and the more mass it has.

Hope that helps.

[beep.click]

Originally Posted by colorado

The more you interact with the Higgs the more mass you have.

AHA! And for all these years, they've been telling me it's the In-N-Out burgers!!!

[colorado]

When I said the up and down quark, elcrtron and the electromagnetic force, strong and weak nuclear force, gravity and Higgs were all there is I misspoke. There is dark energy and matter.

Quiz: Which of those two interacts with the Higgs? A: Dark matter (DM has mass that is how we detect it - by gravitational effects).

Dark energy appears to be the energy of empty spacetime. BTW "nothing" at very small scales is very complex and is inherently "unstable". Which is probably why there is something instead of nothing.

[Televised]

Originally Posted by colorado

It is really hard to explain. At the very small level (subatomic), things do not appear to work in the way they do at our size level. But the FACT is that actually we do WORK the same exact way the subatomic world works. There is only one way the world works and something called the Standard Model of Physics describes that.

I know Standard Model does not sound very exciting but it is the most accurate and predictive model of how things work that human beings have ever created. Parts of the stndard model have been tested to 1 part in a trillion. The Standard Model is possibly the most monumental acheivement of humankind. That you (and many more) may not know what the Standard Model is, is a testment to a grand failure of education around the world.

Anyway the Higgs is a prediction of the Standard Model that involves a quantum field (Higgs) that other "particles" interact with by various amounts. Interact means to exchange particles (in this case bosons) hence the Higgs Boson.

For example, a force interaction that we all love is the electromagnetic force. The "force" is a quantum field and when particles (electrons in the pickup poles and strings) interact with the field "the force" moves the electrons and "rawk" happens. The way the force is transmitted is by an exchange of photons which are the particle expression of the electromagnetic quantum field (photons are also what make up light which is why we call light an "electomagnetic" wave). Photons are bosons, particles of light.

Higgs is the same kind of thing but instead of producing "rawk" it produces mass. Think of it like this. The Higgs field permeates the entire universe.

There are three particles with mass that make up EVERYTHING we see - the up and down quark and the electron. That's it! If that weren't amazing enough there are only four forces - electromagnetic, weak and strong nuclear and gravity. And that is pretty much the whole enchilada.

Well except for the Higgs foce. For example, photons do not interact with the Higgs field so they zip along at the speed of light and have no mass. The more you interact with the Higgs the more mass you have.

So if lets say an electron moves through the Higgs field. As it does, it is constantly exchaning particles (the Higgs Boson) as it moves through the field (just like a pickup and guitar string exchange photons). That slows it down.

An analogy: Say you and a buddy are running next to each other at top speed. Then I say you have to pass a basketball between each other 10 times as you run. That would slow you down. If I said you had to pass it 100 times that would slow you down even more.

That's the Higgs the more a particle interacts (exchange particles) the slower it goes and the more mass it has.

Hope that helps.

Man....I was still working on the "Smoking Duck". This does help but I definitely need more coffee. Thanks and Rawk On!

[bluesfordan]

I read this already next week

[beep.click]

Originally Posted by banjohabit

answer me this: at what point will knowledge end ?

The day after we have enough guitars.

[telefunken]

WOW! All these years of watching "The Big Bang Theory" paid off.................I kinda know what this is all about

[Steerforth]

So, if what I think I'm understanding from the explanation is true, now that we have confirmed the Higgs Boson, if we could build a spacecraft out of a material that could then be somehow shielded or otherwise prevented from interacting with the Higgs Field, it might make interstellar travel possible or perhaps even time travel if the results went far enough, would that be the case?

What other implications are there to this discovery?

Personally, I think I see an end to waiting for FedEx or UPS trucks to bring my stuff when I order new gear.

They just open up a bin at the dealer, put my new guitar and amp in, close it up and punch my address into the keyboard on the front.

On my end, my unit instantly dings and shows a green light on the panel, I open it up, there's my stuff! Guitar and amp have passed through the mailbox of the future without interacting with the Higgs Field, and I get my new gear instantaneously!

And the implications for taking a vacation are staggering. Live in Oklahoma, show up at the beach anytime!

No more cars or highways necessary.

So what do you think, physics aficionados?

Rick