Guys guys.. very very technical!! so writing it in a least technical way... After all Science you see..
Question: "What is the God particle?"
Answer: The "God particle" is the nickname of a subatomic particle called the Higgs boson. In layman’s terms, different subatomic particles are responsible for giving matter different properties. One of the most mysterious and important properties is mass. Some particles, like protons and neutrons, have mass. Others, like photons, do not. The Higgs boson, or “God particle,” is believed to be the particle which gives mass to matter. The “God particle” nickname grew out of the long, drawn-out struggles of physicists to find this elusive piece of the cosmic puzzle. What follows is a very brief, very simplified explanation of how the Higgs boson fits into modern physics, and how science is attempting to study it.
The “standard model” of particle physics is a system that attempts to describe the forces, components, and reactions of the basic particles that make up matter. It not only deals with atoms and their components, but the pieces that compose some subatomic particles. This model does have some major gaps, including gravity, and some experimental contradictions. The standard model is still a very good method of understanding particle physics, and it continues to improve. The model predicts that there are certain elementary particles even smaller than protons and neutrons. As of the date of this writing, the only particle predicted by the model which has not been experimentally verified is the “Higgs boson,” jokingly referred to as the “God particle.”
Each of the subatomic particles contributes to the forces that cause all matter interactions. One of the most important, but least understood, aspects of matter is mass. Science is not entirely sure why some particles seem mass-less, like photons, and others are “massive.” The standard model predicts that there is an elementary particle, the Higgs boson, which would produce the effect of mass. Confirmation of the Higgs boson would be a major milestone in our understanding of physics.
The “God particle” nickname actually arose when the book The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question? by Leon Lederman was published. Since then, it’s taken on a life of its own, in part because of the monumental questions about matter that the God particle might be able to answer. The man who first proposed the Higgs boson’s existence, Peter Higgs, isn’t all that amused by the nickname “God particle,” as he’s an avowed atheist. All the same, there isn’t really any religious intention behind the nickname.
Some questions to answer
1.HOW DID HIGGS BOSON GET TO BE CALLED THE 'GOD PARTICLE'?
Nobel winning physicist Leon Lederman unwittingly coined it. He wanted to refer to the Higgs boson as the 'goddamn particle' but his editor didn't allow that. Higgs has distanced himself from the name saying: "I find it embarrassing. Although I'm not a believer, it is the kind of misuse of terminology that may offend some".
2. HOW DID THE LARGE HADRON COLLIDER (LHC) FIND IT?
Higgs boson is supposed to have originated a trillionth of a second after the Big Bang created the universe. Scientists tried to recreate the same conditions presumed to have existed then by making very high-speed protons collide with each other inside the LHC. Tracking millions of collisions occurring in seconds, they identified traces of a never-before-seen particle. Its mass is in the same range as predicted by theory: it is almost certain this is the Higgs boson.
3. WHY CAN'T SCIENTISTS CONFIRM THE DISCOVERY WITH CERTAINTY?
They are being rigorous - as scientists should be. They say on one count they've found a particle that fits the predicted Higgs boson range of mass. But they have yet to completely identify its other properties. They've to explain all current observations, including the slightly higher than expected energy and absence of some other particles. That will take time. However, for all practical purposes, it is the Higgs boson.
4. SO, WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR SCIENCE?
The discovery confirms the Standard Model theory is valid. Other particles predicted by this theory have been confirmed, but the missing Higgs boson was a glaring hole. Now that's closed. But there are other aspects of sub-atomic physics and of the cosmos that are unexplained, like dark matter (which makes up 25 per cent of the matter in the universe but has never been seen), dark energy (which makes up 70 per cent of matter in the universe but also has never been located), antimatter, supersymmetry (a theory that for every particle there is a heavier twin), etc. With the Higgs boson found, scientists can look at these aspects with more surety. Also, the most well-known force in the universe - gravitation -is still not fully explained. Such issues are still to be cleared.
Watch this below video to be crystal clear.
Thanks for reading .....
Question: "What is the God particle?"
 |
| Higgs Boson |
The “standard model” of particle physics is a system that attempts to describe the forces, components, and reactions of the basic particles that make up matter. It not only deals with atoms and their components, but the pieces that compose some subatomic particles. This model does have some major gaps, including gravity, and some experimental contradictions. The standard model is still a very good method of understanding particle physics, and it continues to improve. The model predicts that there are certain elementary particles even smaller than protons and neutrons. As of the date of this writing, the only particle predicted by the model which has not been experimentally verified is the “Higgs boson,” jokingly referred to as the “God particle.”
Each of the subatomic particles contributes to the forces that cause all matter interactions. One of the most important, but least understood, aspects of matter is mass. Science is not entirely sure why some particles seem mass-less, like photons, and others are “massive.” The standard model predicts that there is an elementary particle, the Higgs boson, which would produce the effect of mass. Confirmation of the Higgs boson would be a major milestone in our understanding of physics.
 |
| Book by Leon lederman |
Some questions to answer
1.HOW DID HIGGS BOSON GET TO BE CALLED THE 'GOD PARTICLE'?
Nobel winning physicist Leon Lederman unwittingly coined it. He wanted to refer to the Higgs boson as the 'goddamn particle' but his editor didn't allow that. Higgs has distanced himself from the name saying: "I find it embarrassing. Although I'm not a believer, it is the kind of misuse of terminology that may offend some".
2. HOW DID THE LARGE HADRON COLLIDER (LHC) FIND IT?
Higgs boson is supposed to have originated a trillionth of a second after the Big Bang created the universe. Scientists tried to recreate the same conditions presumed to have existed then by making very high-speed protons collide with each other inside the LHC. Tracking millions of collisions occurring in seconds, they identified traces of a never-before-seen particle. Its mass is in the same range as predicted by theory: it is almost certain this is the Higgs boson.
3. WHY CAN'T SCIENTISTS CONFIRM THE DISCOVERY WITH CERTAINTY?
They are being rigorous - as scientists should be. They say on one count they've found a particle that fits the predicted Higgs boson range of mass. But they have yet to completely identify its other properties. They've to explain all current observations, including the slightly higher than expected energy and absence of some other particles. That will take time. However, for all practical purposes, it is the Higgs boson.
4. SO, WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR SCIENCE?
The discovery confirms the Standard Model theory is valid. Other particles predicted by this theory have been confirmed, but the missing Higgs boson was a glaring hole. Now that's closed. But there are other aspects of sub-atomic physics and of the cosmos that are unexplained, like dark matter (which makes up 25 per cent of the matter in the universe but has never been seen), dark energy (which makes up 70 per cent of matter in the universe but also has never been located), antimatter, supersymmetry (a theory that for every particle there is a heavier twin), etc. With the Higgs boson found, scientists can look at these aspects with more surety. Also, the most well-known force in the universe - gravitation -is still not fully explained. Such issues are still to be cleared.
Watch this below video to be crystal clear.
Thanks for reading .....
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Light your thoughts here
Post a Comment
Light your thoughts here