In the Field of God: Higgs Boson Evidence Strengthening

Hi Readers,

A table of the elementary particles in the Standard Model. Image from Wikimedia.org.

After the seminal paper and extensive news coverage last year, Physicists and public alike have been waiting to here if the Higgs boson-like particle observed is in fact the elusive god particle. Further analysis of the data obtained so far has strengthened the likelihood that the observed particle is increasing. First of all what is the Higgs boson or god particle?

We are all made of cells which are made of molecules which are made of atoms which are made up of protons, neutrons and electrons. We have all learned this in high school science. What fewer of us know is that protons, neutrons and neutrons break down further into smaller units called elementary particles. Electrons are elementary particles in themselves.

Each elementary particle has a mass. Well actually they don't. The Standard Model of Particle Physics says that all elementary particles are massless. What gives particles the impression that they have have is the Higgs Boson. Before I lose you, imagine a celebrity (the elementary particle) gets off a plane and while walking through the airport (the Higgs Field) an aggregation of fans (the Higgs Bosons within the Higgs Field) forms. The size of that aggregation in this analogy is the same as the observed mass of an elementary particle.

In just the same way as different celebrities cause different sized aggregations to form, different elementary particles attract different amounts of Higgs Bosons which affect its observed mass. This is all theoretical, however, as the Higgs Boson has never been observed in experiments. That brings us back to why the research at CERN is so important.

If the Higgs Boson is confirmed through these experiments, the Standard Model of Particle Physics can be confirmed and we will be another [significant] step closer to under standing our universe.

Until next time,
Jay

Reference article
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/technology/sci-tech/higgs-boson-the-god-particle-discovered-by-cern/story-fn5iztw3-1226597689277