Automatically translated from Basque, translation may contain errors. More information here. Elhuyarren itzultzaile automatikoaren logoa

The “culprit” that things have mass

  • Scientists Peter Higgs and François Englert, who first proposed the existence of the Higgs boson, have been awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize for Science this year. With this excuse, and even though the physics of particles is a subject that goes beyond our senses, we will try to explain what the Higgs boson is.
Higgsen bosoiak utzitako arrastoaren itxura hipotetikoa, CERNen simulaturiko talkan lortua.
Higgsen bosoiak utzitako arrastoaren itxura hipotetikoa, CERNen simulaturiko talkan lortua.

The discovery of the Higgs boson would demonstrate the fundamental theory of particle physics: the standard model. This theory explains the composition of matter and most of the forces and interactions between its components, that is, the general functioning of nature. The structure of matter is a subject addressed since ancient times. Greek philosophers have already discussed the continuity of matter, that is, whether matter is infinitely divisible, or whether we would reach a compound in which it cannot be divided at some point. So it was Democrite who first mentioned the word atom. The word atom means the indivisible in Greek, so Democrite defended that matter was formed by indivisible elements, to tomos.La the first
scientific theory about atoms was proposed at the end of the 18th century. Later, the discovery of the electron determined that within the atom there are positive and negative charges. The positive charge accumulates in the nucleus (protons) and the negative refers to electrons spinning around the nucleus. Although not entirely correct, it can be said that, through an approximation, the atom looks like the solar system. Anyway, we are talking about extremely small sizes. To give you an idea, the size of an atom is around an armstrong, that is, 10 million times less than a millimeter. Another thing to keep in mind is that matter is almost empty. In fact, electrons are far from the nucleus. If, to make a comparison, the nucleus was about a millimeter in size, the electrons would be about 10 meters away. Similarly, if the atom were the size of a football field, the core would be the size of the button of a shirt in the center of the field.

The electron seems to be an elemental or elemental particle, since its internal structure is not known. On the contrary, protons and neutrons that form the nucleus of the atom are formed by the combination of other elementary particles, the quarks. Particle physics tries to explain this structure. In all this, it must be borne in mind that, as Einstein’s theory of general relativity suggests, energy and masses are interchangeable (the famous formula E = mc2). Thus, it is necessary to also take into account the particles that, without mass, contain energy.

Elementary particles

It explains the main theories of particle physics, the standard models, the composition of matter and the interactions between them through elementary particles. In short, there are two main types of particles, the fermions, the components of matter and the bosons, responsible for interactions. When two fermions interact, this interaction occurs by transfer of a boson. For example, when a material heats up in the sun, it's because it absorbs photons from a certain characteristic. So photons are a type of boson. Similarly, every kind of force in the universe is owned by its boson. These forces are four: gravitation, electromagnetic interaction, strong nuclear interaction and weak nuclear interaction.

Each type of elementary particle has a certain, positive, negative or nothing load. However, according to this theory, these particles themselves should not be massive, they should not be weighed, otherwise their calculations would not make sense. According to this theory, this mass or weight is the result of an interaction with a Higgs field; the greater the interaction, the greater the weight. Those who weigh less easily move in this Higgs area, as they have little interaction. Those who weigh a lot, on the contrary, move little, because they have a lot of interaction n.Para make a
comparison, think that the Higgs area is the sea and that in it there are different fermions, boats of different sizes. Small boats move easily in the sea, as they have little interaction with water. However, large ones, as they weigh more, have more interaction, find it harder for them to move.

In search of the boson

If there's the Higgs field, it's because there's a Higgs boson. Therefore, the discovery of the elemental particle of the Higgs boson would confirm the existence of this Higgs field, so the theory would be correct. This would explain the presence of things that weigh in the universe: electrons, atoms, planets, stars, living beings and ourselves, of course. On the contrary, the bosons do not interact with this Higgs area, so they have no mass. Light that is made up of photons, for example, has no weight.

One of the most important features of the Higgs boson is that it disappears immediately after its formation. Its life time is one thousand trillion less than one second, so it is impossible to detect it directly. However, when it disappears, it gives other elemental particles, and through them you can tell if that Higgs boson has existed at some point.

In these studies, probabilistic values are usually given. In fact, it is possible that these other elementary particles that scientists should guess come from the disintegration of the Higgs boson as a consequence of another disturbance, so it is necessary to determine this degree of probability of finding.

This theory was proposed around 1970 and until 2012 it was not possible to find the Higgs boson. In 2008 they began to perform the pivotal experiment at the LHC accelerator at the CERN center in Geneva and in 2012 they were able to confirm with certainty that they had discovered the Higgs boson. At the LHC, protons collide with a lot of energy, accelerate near the speed of light, and under these conditions, the Higgs boson is produced. Through the experiment, it can be stated that the most important point of the theory that would explain the origin of the universe has been demonstrated.


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