bosoninhiggs is a fundamental particle of physics responsible for assigning mass to particles that shouldn't have pasta or that they should have smaller masses than they do. The Higgs boson was theoretically predicted in 1964 by Peterhiggs and Francoisenglish, but its observation was only possible in 2013, thanks to the advance in technology of particle accelerators.
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What is the Higgs boson in simple terms?
the higgs boson is one of the elementary particles of physics (these particles are known as the standard model of physics). This particle is responsible for create a field that permeates all space, called the Higgs field. The Higgs field is responsible for assigning mass to particles such as quarks (which form the protons and neutrons) and the electrons.
The Higgs field interacts with the matter similar to the way the electromagnetic field interacts with the electrical charges — by means of a boson, which, in the case of the electromagnetism, it's called photon. Bosons, in turn, are particles that "transmit" the different types of force to the particles that form atoms and that give rise to things around us, called fermions.
The Higgs boson was theorized in 1964 by Peterhiggs and by FrancoisEnglert, in addition to four other theoretical physicists. However, the first experiment capable of proving the existence of this particle was only carried out in 2013, using the largest particle accelerator in the world, the LHC (Large Hadrons Collider).
The discovery of the Higgs boson awarded Higgs and Englert the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2013:
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2013 was jointly awarded to François Englert and Peter W. Higgs for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributed to our understanding of the origin of the mass of subatomic particles, and that was recently confirmed by the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle, by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the Large Hadron Collider of the CERN.|1|
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Does the Higgs boson exist?
Yes, the Higgs boson exists. The existence of this particle was confirmed in 2013, during high energy experiments developed at the LHC. According to theoretical predictions, this boson could only be observed under extreme conditions, similar to the conditions under which the Higgs field formed. during the beginnings of the Universe — moments after the Big Bang. To this end, physicists from around the world have joined together to study ways to accelerate and collide particles in order to simulate such conditions.
In 2012, the LHC was already able to reach energies of up to 8 TeV (teraelectron volts) when accelerating and colliding proton beams in sensesopposites, moving at speeds close to the speed of light, circling in its huge rings. In this way, it was possible to observe, albeit for an extremely short time, a particle hitherto unknown, but which had all the characteristics predicted by field theory of Higgs.
How important is the Higgs boson?
The Higgs boson is of enormous importance for the understanding of matter It's from Universe itself. Proof of the existence of this boson changed the way physicists understood the standard model of particle physics.
Thanks to the theory related to the Higgs boson, physicists were able to explain the functioning of two fundamental forces of nature - the weak force and the electromagnetic force, which, according to Higgs theory, are manifestations of a single force, known as electroweak force, which supposedly gave rise to another two at the time the Universe cooled, moments after its great inflation, known as Big Bang.
Because of the way the Higgs field causes certain particles to “gain” mass, the Higgs bosons are believed to be the key to explaining the expansion of the universe — cosmologists currently believe that 25% of all mass in the universe is made in dark matter, whose existence can be related to the boson.
Higgs boson and fiction
The Higgs boson was known worldwide by the name “God particle”. This name came up when the American physicist LeonLederman (1922-2018) intended to release a book that told the story behind the quest for the existence of the boson, entitled the goddamn particle (The damn particle), as a reference to how difficult it was to detect such a particle. However, the editor suggested that the title be changed to The God particle (The God particle). The name generated revolt in the scientific community, which became the target of criticism and protests from the unwary.
The mystery behind the Higgs boson and all the technology needed to observe it, achieved through of advances with particle accelerators, have made it a topic of great interest for fiction scientific. The Higgs boson has recently gained great notoriety thanks to the series launched by Netflix, dark. In the series, the Higgs boson, which is also called dark matter by the characters, is able to tunnel through space-time (wormholes), taking the protagonist to different times and realities.
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Higgs boson summary
The Higgs boson "binds" to some types of particles and gives them a certain amount of mass (inertia).
The Higgs boson obtains mass through interaction with the Higgs field, as do protons and electrons.
The Higgs field permeates the entire Universe and causes bosons to stick to particles.
The Higgs bosons emerged as the Universe cooled, in an episode that physicists refer to as a spontaneous symmetry breaking.
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By Rafael Hellerbrock
Physics teacher
