[. . .]

I've been reading a bit about this higgs boson and am confused as to whether it is a field or a particle?

If somebody could explain this to me it simple terms it would greatly be appreciated. My knowledge of physics only extends to AS level.

[Pitt1988]

The higgs field was formed immediately after the big bang, slowing the particles down and allowing them to interact with one another. The higgs boson particle is the particle that was hypothesised to give matter mass as the particles that build atoms, which in turn make matter, effectively weigh nothing. I think.

[Picture~Perfect]

I think this is quite good
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/vi...gs-boson-video

[SillyEddy]

Have a look at this video for an explanation

It is a field when it just has a value. It just exists. It's everywhere. It becomes a particle when you cause excitation and give it a bump of energy in a particular location.


I don't think they've conclusively decided that it is the Higgs Boson, but it seems very likely. They just need to interpret what they have found and see if they've found the standard version or a sort of 'isotope' version, a different flavour, of the Higgs. If they know they've got the standard version, it can join the standard model.

[suneilr]

(Original post by Pitt1988)
The higgs field was formed immediately after the big bang

Very soon after, not immediately

[LuisSuarez7]

Without it matter would not have formed and the universe would not exist as it does today. There would be no stars, planets and well... us for that matter.

[KyraBloke]

I'm going to look like an idiot asking this, but is this Higgs boson a particle which is in everything, like a proton? Or have i totally got this wrong?

[Mr Ben]

(Original post by KyraBloke)
I'm going to look like an idiot asking this, but is this Higgs boson a particle which is in everything, like a proton? Or have i totally got this wrong?

The Higgs boson is more fundamental than a proton, protons are actually composite particles (I think that's the term) of quarks and gluons. The Higgs boson is, well it's a boson, the same class of particle as photons.

[Big-Daddy]

(Original post by KyraBloke)
I'm going to look like an idiot asking this, but is this Higgs boson a particle which is in everything, like a proton? Or have i totally got this wrong?

The particle itself has a huge mass and cannot possibly be present in every proton (as it has a mass 133 times that of a proton), but it is what gives mass to all elementary particles like quarks and electrons.

At least, that's my understanding of it.

[Occams Chainsaw]

(Original post by . . .)
I've been reading a bit about this higgs boson and am confused as to whether it is a field or a particle?

If somebody could explain this to me it simple terms it would greatly be appreciated. My knowledge of physics only extends to AS level.

A field just has a value and it has a value everywhere but no direction.

I presume you know that if you excite an electromagnetic field you create a photon. The equivalent for the higgs field is a higgs boson - a particle.
This particle is what is being detected. It's pretty big, about 33 times more mass than a proton

They are exciting the field, thats why they are firing protons in, to generate enough energy to excite the field significantly.

The protons are smashed together, generating energy and the excitation of the field produces the particle, it decays almost instantly. Decaying in different ways whether that means creating photons or w and z particles, others by decaying into quarks.

The ones that the scientists are able to get the best statistics on are the ones where the higgs decays into the 2 photons and also the one where the higgs decays into 4 leptons.

You may wonder why it decays so quickly relative to a photon which can exist for a long time... a photon is mass-less, as I stated before, a higgs is a massive particle and because it can interact with so many other particles with lower masses, it can decay

Now I haven't even started AS science yet so please don't make fun of how vague I was, Physics graduates! I tried! hahaah

[blueray]

Is this higgs boson smaller than a quark? What is smaller than a quark?

[Mr Ben]

(Original post by blueray)
Is this higgs boson smaller than a quark? What is smaller than a quark?

The higgs boson (mass of around 120GeV) is significantly more massive (you generally use mass, not size to compare particles) than all quarks but the top (around 170GeV)

[blueray]

(Original post by Mr Ben)
The higgs boson (mass of around 120GeV) is significantly more massive (you generally use mass, not size to compare particles) than all quarks but the top (around 170GeV)

gev?

[Mr Ben]

(Original post by blueray)
gev?

Giga Electron-volts, sorry I'm used to giving mass as mass energy.

[nebelbon]

Giga electron volts

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my HTC One X

[Occams Chainsaw]

(Original post by blueray)
gev?

giga electron volts....
an electron volt is x10^-19 joules. and giga (prefix) is x10^6

[blueray]

(Original post by Mr Ben)
Giga Electron-volts, sorry I'm used to giving mass as mass energy.

(Original post by nebelbon)
Giga electron volts

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my HTC One X

(Original post by Occams Chainsaw)
giga electron volts....
an electron volt is x10^-19 joules. and giga (prefix) is x10^6

What does a Giga electron volts show and what is it used in what calulations etc?

[mmmpie]

The Higgs boson is a particle. Specifically, it's the particle which mediates interactions with the Higgs field, in the same way that a photon is that particle which mediates interaction with the electromagnetic field.

A field is everywhere. Think of it like the surface of the water in your bath. If you perturb the surface of the water you get waves, and the waves will interact with other objects (you, the sides of the tub, your rubber duck). Now waves, in quantum mechanics, are also particles and vice versa. Bosons are excitations of a field; they are the particle-like aspect of the wave that you've made in the bathtub.

The Higgs field in particular is very much like the water in the bathtub. When you move through it you experience resistance, and that gives the effect of having inertia and mass. If you move your hand through the water, you produce a wave in the tub - an excitation of the Higgs field - but that wave is coupled to your hand and moves with it. If you suddenly release the energy involved in the movement of your hand - say by slamming it into the side of the tub - you'll produce another much larger wave which is independent of your movements, and that is what shows up as the Higgs boson.

[. . .]

(Original post by mmmpie)
The Higgs boson is a particle. Specifically, it's the particle which mediates interactions with the Higgs field, in the same way that a photon is that particle which mediates interaction with the electromagnetic field.

A field is everywhere. Think of it like the surface of the water in your bath. If you perturb the surface of the water you get waves, and the waves will interact with other objects (you, the sides of the tub, your rubber duck). Now waves, in quantum mechanics, are also particles and vice versa. Bosons are excitations of a field; they are the particle-like aspect of the wave that you've made in the bathtub.

The Higgs field in particular is very much like the water in the bathtub. When you move through it you experience resistance, and that gives the effect of having inertia and mass. If you move your hand through the water, you produce a wave in the tub - an excitation of the Higgs field - but that wave is coupled to your hand and moves with it. If you suddenly release the energy involved in the movement of your hand - say by slamming it into the side of the tub - you'll produce another much larger wave which is independent of your movements, and that is what shows up as the Higgs boson.

I see thank you.

[Occams Chainsaw]

an electron volt is a unit of energy just like a joule. except an elecronvolt is used with much smaller numbers... remember an electronvolt is 1.6x10-19 joules. it is the amount of energy gained by the charge of a single electron moved across an electric potential difference of one volt, to be exact

giga is a prefix just like kilo or pico or femto which can all be used in front of 'meter' ect
it just decribes the size.

giga is 1x10^6... in other words a million.