Peter Higgs, physicist who proposed Higgs boson, dies aged 94

[The IbanezerScrooge]

Peter Higgs, physicist who proposed Higgs boson, dies aged 94

Nobel-prize winning physicist who showed how particle helped bind universe together died at home in Edinburgh

www.theguardian.com

Peter Higgs, the Nobel prize-winning physicist who proposed a new particle known as the Higgs boson, has died.​

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Higgs, 94, who was awarded the Nobel prize for physics in 2013 for his work in 1964 showing how the boson helped bind the universe together by giving particles their mass, died at home in Edinburgh on Monday.​

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After a series of experiments, which began in earnest in 2008, his theory was proven by physicists working at the Large Hadron Collider at Cern in Switzerland in 2012; the Nobel prize was shared with François Englert, a Belgian theoretical physicist whose work in 1964 also contributed directly to the discovery.​

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[AlexB23]

Peter Higgs, physicist who proposed Higgs boson, dies aged 94

Nobel-prize winning physicist who showed how particle helped bind universe together died at home in Edinburgh

www.theguardian.com

Peter Higgs, the Nobel prize-winning physicist who proposed a new particle known as the Higgs boson, has died.​

​

Higgs, 94, who was awarded the Nobel prize for physics in 2013 for his work in 1964 showing how the boson helped bind the universe together by giving particles their mass, died at home in Edinburgh on Monday.​

​

After a series of experiments, which began in earnest in 2008, his theory was proven by physicists working at the Large Hadron Collider at Cern in Switzerland in 2012; the Nobel prize was shared with François Englert, a Belgian theoretical physicist whose work in 1964 also contributed directly to the discovery.​

​

May Mr. Higgs rest in peace. I remember when the Higg's Boson was discovered in 2012 or so, and I was listening diligently to NPR in the car with my parents. We do not listen to NPR or news in general as much in 2024, cos there are a lot of wars going on, and that gives me anxiety. If anyone needs an explanation of how the particle works, I can give an explanation after work, cos it will be a long one. Note to science-deniers: Please do not attack me or others for being interested in physics. Science and faith can go hand in hand.

 

[Bob Crowley]

Stephen Hawking worried the Higgs Boson could one day destroy the universe.

Stephen Hawking Fears Higgs Boson Doomsday, and He's Not Alone

Physicist Stephen Hawking lends his support to the idea that the mass of the Higgs boson leaves the way open for a catastrophic cosmic wipe-out.

www.nbcnews.com

Here's how Hawking describes this Higgs doomsday scenario in the new book: "The Higgs potential has the worrisome feature that it might become metastable at energies above 100 [billion] gigaelectronvolts (GeV). … This could mean that the universe could undergo catastrophic vacuum decay, with a bubble of the true vacuum expanding at the speed of light. This could happen at any time and we wouldn't see it coming." [10 Implications of Faster-Than-Light Travel]

As Christians we believe God is one day going to remove this universe. For all we know this might be His preferred method, and He may already have started the process.

Just conjecture.

 

[Hans Blaster]

Stephen Hawking worried the Higgs Boson could one day destroy the universe.

Stephen Hawking Fears Higgs Boson Doomsday, and He's Not Alone

Physicist Stephen Hawking lends his support to the idea that the mass of the Higgs boson leaves the way open for a catastrophic cosmic wipe-out.

www.nbcnews.com

As Christians we believe God is one day going to remove this universe. For all we know this might be His preferred method, and He may already have started the process.

Just conjecture.

It would be useful if these "panic"ers knew just a little bit about high energy cosmic rays.

For everyone else -- cosmic rays at and above the energies of *every* planned or proposed collider experiment hit the Earth all the time. If some thing made in a new collider could destroy the planet, a cosmic ray would have already done the job.

 

[AlexB23]

I am back from work. Here is the explanation of the Higgs Boson which was promised to you guys.


Here it goes :

The Higgs Boson is a subatomic particle that was discovered in 2012 at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). It is named after Peter Higgs, one of six physicists who proposed its existence as part of the Higgs field theory in 1964. The Higgs Boson is significant because it is believed to be responsible for giving other elementary particles mass.

In the Standard Model of particle physics, all fundamental particles are considered to be massless in their intrinsic state. However, when these particles interact with the Higgs field, they acquire mass through a process called spontaneous symmetry breaking. The Higgs Boson is the the particle that produces this field, and its presence in the universe allows other particles to have mass.

The Higgs Boson is a boson, meaning it has integer spin and follows Bose-Einstein statistics. It has zero electric charge and interacts strongly with other fundamental particles such as quarks and leptons, making it relatively easy to detect. Its mass is estimated to be around 126 gigaelectronvolts (GeV), which falls within the mass range predicted by the Standard Model.

The discovery of the Higgs Boson confirmed the existence of the Higgs field, a crucial component of the Standard Model and a major milestone in the quest to understand the fundamental nature of matter and energy. This discovery has opened up new avenues for research into the physics beyond the Standard Model, including the search for supersymmetric particles and dark matter particles.


Now, the simplified version:

The Higgs Boson is a tiny particle that was discovered in 2012 using the Large Hadron Collider. It's named after a physicist who first proposed its existence in 1964. This particle is special because it's thought to be responsible for giving other particles mass, making them heavier. In the simplest terms, imagine a sink filled with water representing the "Higgs field." When tiny particles interact with this field, they acquire mass in a way similar to a sponge absorbing water. The Higgs Boson is the particle that represents this field and interacts strongly with other basic building blocks of matter. Its discovery helped scientists better understand the fundamental nature of matter and energy.

Here is what CERN's sensors (link) picked up during the Higg's Boson discovery. The yellow lines represent particle trajectories during the collision of protons. Certain angles of particle trajectory correspond to different masses of particles.

 

[Bob Crowley]

I am cetainly not versed in quantum physics, but Scientific American had this article on the Higgs Boson and how "... it might destroy the universe".

How the Higgs Boson Might Spell Doom for the Universe

Under the simplest assumptions, the measured mass of the Higgs could mean the universe is unstable and destined to fall apart. But don’t worry—it won’t happen for billions of eons

www.scientificamerican.com

While the author wasn't losing any sleep over it, it seems to me it's more than a case of just comparing energy leves between the Higgs Boson and Cosmic Rays.

While the Higgs Boson has the nickname "The God Particle" it seems there was also a "Oh My God Particle" which was a cosmic ray of very high energy.

Oh-My-God particle - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The Higgs Boson is supposed to have an energy level of 125 billion electron volts (1.25 x 10^11 ev), whereas the "Oh My God Particle" was about (3.2±0.9)×10^20 eV, which is of an order of a billion times that of the Higgs Boson (if my shaky maths is correct). So Hans Blaster was correct in saying that we are constantly bombarded by cosmic rays much more energetic than the Higgs Boson.

I think it is the particular role of the Higgs Boson / Higgs Field which alarmed Stephen Hawking.

 

[Ophiolite]

I notice the thread has gone off topic, a problem to which I have contributed. May I recommend we now return exclusively to the life and work of Peter Higgs, as a mark of respect.

 

[Estrid]

I notice the thread has gone off topic, a problem to which I have contributed. May I recommend we now return exclusively to the life and work of Peter Higgs, as a mark of respect.

Those who set out to derail won't succeed
IF they are ignored.

 

[RileyG]

May he Rest In Peace

 

[FreeinChrist]

ADVISOR HAT

This thread had a small clean up of off topic posts. Let's stick to the topic and Higgs work.

​

 

[sjastro]

I am cetainly not versed in quantum physics, but Scientific American had this article on the Higgs Boson and how "... it might destroy the universe".

How the Higgs Boson Might Spell Doom for the Universe

Under the simplest assumptions, the measured mass of the Higgs could mean the universe is unstable and destined to fall apart. But don’t worry—it won’t happen for billions of eons

www.scientificamerican.com

While the author wasn't losing any sleep over it, it seems to me it's more than a case of just comparing energy leves between the Higgs Boson and Cosmic Rays.

While the Higgs Boson has the nickname "The God Particle" it seems there was also a "Oh My God Particle" which was a cosmic ray of very high energy.

Oh-My-God particle - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The Higgs Boson is supposed to have an energy level of 125 billion electron volts (1.25 x 10^11 ev), whereas the "Oh My God Particle" was about (3.2±0.9)×10^20 eV, which is of an order of a billion times that of the Higgs Boson (if my shaky maths is correct). So Hans Blaster was correct in saying that we are constantly bombarded by cosmic rays much more energetic than the Higgs Boson.

I think it is the particular role of the Higgs Boson / Higgs Field which alarmed Stephen Hawking.

When the LHC was constructed to find the Higgs boson, prophets of doom claimed our planet was going to be destroyed in variety of ways involving mini black holes, strangelets, vacuum bubbles and magnetic monopoles (my favourite).
It forced CERN to issue a statement to alleviate public fears.

The Safety of the LHC | CERN

www.home.cern

Vacuum bubbles however has received more attention in the scientific community as a potential way for the universe to self destruct.

 

[Ophiolite]

When the LHC was constructed to find the Higgs boson, prophets of doom claimed our planet was going to be destroyed in variety of ways involving mini black holes, strangelets, vacuum bubbles and magnetic monopoles (my favourite).
It forced CERN to issue a statement to alleviate public fears.

The Safety of the LHC | CERN

www.home.cern

Vacuum bubbles however has received more attention in the scientific community as a potential way for the universe to self destruct.

Did the claims made by the "prophets of doom" inspire any research that brought insights that might otherwise have been delayed?

 

[Bob Crowley]

When the LHC was constructed to find the Higgs boson, prophets of doom claimed our planet was going to be destroyed in variety of ways involving mini black holes, strangelets, vacuum bubbles and magnetic monopoles (my favourite).
It forced CERN to issue a statement to alleviate public fears.

The Safety of the LHC | CERN

www.home.cern

I glanced through the article on large hadron collider safety. It would appear Stephen Hawking was not one of the "prophets of doom" as the article includes a side comment by him viz.

The world will not come to an end when the LHC turns on. The LHC is absolutely safe. ... Collisions releasing greater energy occur millions of times a day in the earth's atmosphere and nothing terrible happens.

Prof. Steven Hawking, Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, Cambridge University

However he did express misgivings about the Higgs Boson / Higgs Field, and he wasn't referring to CERN.

 

[Tinker Grey]

However he did express misgivings about the Higgs Boson / Higgs Field, and he wasn't referring to CERN.

IIRC, he dispelled the notion that micro black holes that might be created at CERN would be a problem; they would quickly evaporate.

 

[sjastro]

Did the claims made by the "prophets of doom" inspire any research that brought insights that might otherwise have been delayed?

The "prophets of doom" in this case were the media which initiated a snowball effect by reporting on the scenarios when the RHIC (Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider) was commissioned in the States a decade before the LHC.
The media became aware after articles were published in Scientific American of 'what if' scenarios which were debated amongst scientists.

The debate started in 1999 with an exchange of letters in Scientific American between Walter L. Wagner and F. Wilczek, in response to a previous article by M. Mukerjee. The media attention unfolded with an article in UK Sunday Times of July 18, 1999, by J. Leake, closely followed by articles in the U.S. media. The controversy mostly ended with the report of a committee convened by the director of Brookhaven National Laboratory, J. H. Marburger, ostensibly ruling out the catastrophic scenarios depicted. However, the report left open the possibility that relativistic cosmic ray impact products might behave differently while transiting earth compared to "at rest" RHIC products; and the possibility that the qualitative difference between high-E proton collisions with earth or the moon might be different than gold on gold collisions at the RHIC. Wagner tried subsequently to stop full-energy collision at RHIC by filing Federal lawsuits in San Francisco and New York, but without success. The New York suit was dismissed on the technicality that the San Francisco suit was the preferred forum. The San Francisco suit was dismissed, but with leave to refile if additional information was developed and presented to the court.

The situation with the LHC was a more hysterical and widespread reaction.

In the run up to the commissioning of the LHC, Walter L. Wagner (an original opponent of the RHIC), Luis Sancho (a Spanish science writer) and Otto Rössler (a German biochemist) expressed concerns over the safety of the LHC, and attempted to halt the beginning of the experiments through petitions to the US and European Courts. These opponents assert that the LHC experiments have the potential to create low velocity micro black holes that could grow in mass or release dangerous radiation leading to doomsday scenarios, such as the destruction of the Earth. Other claimed potential risks include the creation of theoretical particles called strangelets, magnetic monopoles, and vacuum bubbles.

Based on such safety concerns, US federal judge Richard Posner, Future of Humanity Institute research associate Toby Ord and others have argued that the LHC experiments are too risky to undertake. In the book Our Final Century: Will the Human Race Survive the Twenty-first Century?, English cosmologist and astrophysicist Martin Rees had calculated an upper limit of 1 in 50 million for the probability that RHIC will produce a global catastrophe or black hole. However, Rees has also reported not to be "losing sleep over the collider," and trusts the scientists who have built it. He has stated: "My book has been misquoted in one or two places. I would refer you to the up-to-date safety study."

The risk assessments of catastrophic scenarios at the LHC sparked public fears, and some scientists associated with the project received protests—the Large Hadron Collider team revealed that they had received death threats and threatening emails and phone calls demanding the experiment be halted. On 9 September 2008, Romania's Conservative Party held a protest before the European Commission mission to Bucharest, demanding that the experiment be halted because it feared that the LHC could create dangerous black holes.

 

[sjastro]

I glanced through the article on large hadron collider safety. It would appear Stephen Hawking was not one of the "prophets of doom" as the article includes a side comment by him viz.


However he did express misgivings about the Higgs Boson / Higgs Field, and he wasn't referring to CERN.

Hawking did express concerns about the Higgs field being in a false vacuum state leading to vacuum decay as described in the video in post#11.

"The Higgs potential has the worrisome feature that it might become metastable at energies above 100 [billion] gigaelectronvolts (GeV). This could mean that the universe could undergo catastrophic vacuum decay, with a bubble of the true vacuum expanding at the speed of light. This could happen at any time and we wouldn't see it coming."