General, Research, Technology

What is the Higgs boson and why scientists wanted to discover it

Many have heard something somewhere about the Higgs boson, butsome even tried to figure out what it is. As a result, the explanation of this process is so complex that it is not so easy to understand it all. We just know it's important and that's it. Although sometimes it even seems that scientists are hiding something from us, and in fact, equipment worth billions of dollars, including the Large Hadron Collider, is simply not needed. Of course, this is not so, and physicists have made a great discovery (and continue to make new ones), but you just need to understand whether this will give us something. I mean ordinary people who are interested in reading and wondering how much money they spent on a new laboratory, but much more interesting to get some benefits from it. Let's try to understand whether the world will shine for us and will be warmer in our homes from the discovery of the Higgs boson. And anyway, what is it.

There is always something at the heart of the basics. The question is how to find it.

Content

  • 1 What is the Higgs boson
  • 2 Does the Higgs boson exist
  • 3 Why the Higgs boson is called the "particle of God"
  • 4 What will the discovery of a particle of God give
  • 5 Where to apply the Higgs boson

What is the Higgs boson

Before telling what one of thethe most important discoveries of modern physics, it is necessary to give this definition. It is advisable to do this in simple language, and not so that only certified physicists understand it. This is what we will do.

To do this is quite simple - not easy. Back in the early nineties of the last century, in different scientific communities, even instituted prizes, which were supposed to stimulate scientists to come up with simple explanations for the main particle of all theories. It turned out so-so, but the versions were very different.

Physicists desperately want the Higgs boson to be a mistake

For example, one of the versions is abstract compared the situation to a party... An example was a group of people whois present at an event where a famous person comes in at some point. For clarity, you can even say famous. As a result, some people in the room begin to move in his direction and follow him, because they want to communicate with him.

During such a passage, the crowd maybreak up into small groups, which, for example, will discuss some news or gossip. Gradually, they will start passing gossip to each other and begin to form seals.

Physicists finally see what the Higgs boson decays into

In this explanation, the room is a fieldHiggs, a celebrity is a particle moving in a field, and groups of people will represent the disturbances of this field. Can not understand anything? I agree! But this is one of the simplest explanations. If you can more easily explain what the Higgs boson is, tell us about it in our Telegram chat. Maybe you can do it.

A celebrity must walk somewhere here and then we will understand what the Higgs boson is. Or not…

Does the Higgs boson exist

The Higgs boson is a fundamental particleStandard model. Until recently, it was impossible to find her. At the same time, the existence of such a particle was predicted by physics back in the sixties of the last century. They did not have the equipment to prove the existence of such particles, and they needed a tool that was created only much later. It happened in 2008, when the Large Hadron Collider appeared at CERN (European Council for Nuclear Research).

Standard model is a theoretical construction appliedin the physics of elementary particles. It describes the electromagnetic interaction of all elementary particles (weak and strong). The Standard Model does not describe some aspects of physics, such as dark matter. That is why it cannot be called a theory of everything. The picture of the standard model was "fully formed" when the Higgs boson was discovered.

Why the Higgs boson is called the "particle of God"

Since 2008, scientists have been savvy in the search for "Particles of God" (one of the names of the Higgs boson). So she is called at the suggestion of Leon Lederman, who was Nobel laureate and published a book with a title that begins with these words. Although the scientist himself liked the name "Cursed Particle" more, it somehow did not take root.

Thanks to this American scientist, the Higgs boson began to be called that way.

As the saying goes, "even call the devil bald", butthe particle was eventually found and it happened in 2012. It was the Large Hadron Collider that helped in the detection. At the same time, after the discovery, the scientists reported this, but were in no hurry to make hasty conclusions and acted very carefully. In the first days after the experiment, scientists said that they had only found an elementary particle similar to the Higgs boson.

What will the discovery of a particle of God give

A slightly absurd example... An insect lives underground andnever crawls to the surface, but realizes that the sky is blue (that's such a smart insect). Then it sees the color blue and understands what the sky really is, and that it was right. But will it change something from the point of view of the sky itself? Of course not. As it was blue, it remained, and the insect, as it lived underground, continued to live there.

Why is our universe so strange and are there laws of physics?

The situation is approximately the same with Higgs boson... He will not allow us to start traveling intime, will not contribute to the creation of a perpetual motion machine and will not become the main cure for all diseases. In fact, his discovery just confirmed the supposed principles of particle interactions and brought together all the statements of the Standard Theory. Perhaps, because of his appearance, questions in other areas of physics, on the contrary, will only increase.

There are a lot of visualizations of the Higgs boson search.

Where can the Higgs boson be applied?

In practice, the application of the Higgs boson is stillit is impossible, and it is not clear where to apply it. But it is important for fundamental physics. Well, at least it didn't lead to the end of the world, which many skeptics talked about. There were even theories that a collision of particles at the Large Hadron Collider could create a black hole that would swallow our entire solar system. And Dan Brown in his famous book "Angels and Demons" made the main plot of the hunt for antimatter, which the attackers stole at CERN.

Higgs boson: a portal to the "dark world"?

As a result, we (humanity) have the Higgs boson and the Large Hadron Collider in the center of Europe, the construction cost of which is exceeded $ 10 billion... There is a little less practical use for ordinary people than not at all, but this whole story sounds interesting. Well, even though physicists are happy, they can find application for their discovery.