Unless you’ve been hiding under a chondrite for the past week you’ve heard the news from CERN regarding the discovery of a new particle that exhibits “Higgs-like” qualities. Particle physics isn’t the easiest discipline to wrap one’s head around, and while we’ve recently shared some simplified explanations of what exactly a Higgs boson is, well…here’s another.
Here, BBC’s Jonathan Amos attempts to demonstrate what the Higgs field does, and what part the boson plays. Some Ping-Pong balls, a little sugar, and a cafeteria tray is all it takes to give an idea of how essential this long-sought after subatomic particle is to the Universe. (If only finding it had been that easy!)
Video: BBC News
To be more precise, the Higgs mechanism works just like what’s shown in the video, but without the sugar.
Yeah, that’s right, Higgs is salty. :d
But, seriously, why? If it’s without sugar then explain it, otherwise you’re confusing. And don’t be ashamed to mention spontaneuosly broken symmetry. 😀
Don’t you mean spontaneously broken sugar?
Yeah, in a black tea which is Dark Matter.
Answer one question, create a thousand more questions.
I love science!
That’s a good description. I described it to my wife by saying if you drop sand into a swimming pool, each grain sinks at a different rate. Light, however, passes straight through to the bottom unhindered.
Exciting times…
Nice, simple explanation, especially the photon, which I didn’t actually realize has no mass. Never thought about it before.