The Higgs Field, explained - Don Lincoln

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One of the most significant scientific discoveries of the early 21st century is surely the Higgs boson, but the boson and the Higgs Field that allows for that magic particle are extremely difficult to grasp. Don Lincoln outlines an analogy that all of us can appreciate, starring a large dinner party, a raucous group of physicists, and Peter Higgs himself.

Lesson by Don Lincoln, animation by Powerhouse Animation Studios Inc.

Without a doubt,

the most exciting scientific observation of 2012

was the discovery of a new particle

at the CERN laboratory

that could be the Higgs boson,

a particle named after physicist Peter Higgs.

The Higgs Field is thought to give mass

to fundamental, subatomic particles

like the quarks

and leptons

that make up ordinary matter.

The Higgs bosons are wiggles in the field,

like the bump you see

when you twitch a rope.

But how does this field give mass to particles?

If this sounds confusing to you,

you're not alone.

In 1993, the British Science Minister

challenged physicists to invent a simple way

to understand all this Higgs stuff.

The prize was a bottle of quality champagne.

The winning explanation went something like this:

Suppose there's a large cocktail party

at the CERN laboratory

filled with particle physics researchers.

This crowd of physicists represents the Higgs field.

If a tax collector entered the party,

nobody would want to talk to them,

and they could very easily cross the room

to get to the bar.

The tax collector wouldn't interact with the crowd

in much the same way

that some particles don't interact with the Higgs field.

The particles that don't interact,

like photons for example,

are called massless.

Now, suppose that Peter Higgs entered the same room,

perhaps in search of a pint.

In this case, the physicists

will immediately crowd around Higgs

to discuss with him

their efforts to measure the properties

of his namesake boson.

Because he interacts strongly with the crowd,

Higgs will move slowly across the room.

Continuing our analogy,

Higgs has become a massive particle

through his interactions with the field.

So, if that's the Higgs field,

how does the Higgs boson fit into all of this?

Let's pretend our crowd of party goers

is uniformly spread across the room.

Now suppose someone pops their head in the door

to report a rumor of a discovery

at some distant, rival laboratory.

People near the door will hear the rumor,

but people far away won't,

so they'll move closer to the door to ask.

This will create a clump in the crowd.

As people have heard the rumor,

they will return to their original positions

to discuss its implications,

but people further away will then ask what's going on.

The result will be a clump in the crowd

that moves across the room.

This clump is analogous to the Higgs boson.

It is important to remember

that it is not that massive particles

interact more with the Higgs field.

In our analogy of the party,

all particles are equal until they enter the room.

Both Peter Higgs and the tax collector have zero mass.

It is the interaction with the crowd

that causes them to gain mass.

I'll say that again.

Mass comes from interactions with a field.

So, let's recap.

A particle gets more or less mass

depending on how it interacts with a field,

just like different people will move through the crowd

at different speeds depending on their popularity.

And the Higgs boson is just a clump in the field,

like a rumor crossing the room.

Of course, this analogy is just that --

an analogy,

but it's the best analogy

anyone has come up with so far.

So, that's it.

That's what the Higgs Field

and the Higgs boson is all about.

Continuing research will tell us if we found it,

and the reward will probably be more

than just a bottle of champagne.