Joined: Feb 10 2004 Posts: 16136 Location: Badsville
Chris28 wrote:
Ferocious Aardvark wrote:The Higgs is overrated in the media. But basically one theory is that, when it comes down to the most fundamental particles, this is the one that makes all particles "weigh" something, i.e. have mass. Find a way to extract Higgs Bosons from the rest of the particles, and you could for example get a "weightless" spacecraft, and empty Weightwatchers meetings halls.
So somewhere, within each of us, we have the Higgs Boson?
If it exists
She got the wiggle hip sway hypno sex ray goin' on in my head She got the flippin' hip slide hypno sex siren in my head She got the wiggle hip sway hypno sex ray light's flashin' red
Joined: Jul 31 2003 Posts: 36786 Location: Leafy Worcester, home of the Black Pear
Chris28 wrote:
Ferocious Aardvark wrote:The Higgs is overrated in the media. But basically one theory is that, when it comes down to the most fundamental particles, this is the one that makes all particles "weigh" something, i.e. have mass. Find a way to extract Higgs Bosons from the rest of the particles, and you could for example get a "weightless" spacecraft, and empty Weightwatchers meetings halls.
So somewhere, within each of us, we have the Higgs Boson?
If it exists, then every particle in the Universe that has mass contains one.
Still not certain that it exists, mind.
Hold on to me baby, his bony hands will do you no harm It said in the cards, we lost our souls to the Nameless One
Joined: Feb 17 2002 Posts: 28357 Location: MACS0647-JD
Chris28 wrote:
Ferocious Aardvark wrote:The Higgs is overrated in the media. But basically one theory is that, when it comes down to the most fundamental particles, this is the one that makes all particles "weigh" something, i.e. have mass. Find a way to extract Higgs Bosons from the rest of the particles, and you could for example get a "weightless" spacecraft, and empty Weightwatchers meetings halls.
So somewhere, within each of us, we have the Higgs Boson?
Well, a 70 kg person is made up of approximately 7,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms. Each contains numerous Higgs bosons (if they exist) so you could say you don't have one, you have several.
Last edited by Ferocious Aardvark on stardate Jun 26, 3013 11:27 am, edited 48,562,867,458,300,023 times in total
My understanding (I read a few articles a while back so I may miss some details) is that the 'Higgs field' permeates all space and interacts with some particles whilst others pass through without any interaction taking place. Particles without mass are massless because they don't interact with the Higgs. Particles with mass have it because they do interact and in effect are slowed down by the Higgs field, its this slowing down that gives the mass to the particle (am I right in thinking that massless particles travel at light speed by definition?). Maybe a good analogy is a massless particle whizzing along at the speed of light, then interacting with the Higgs and it being like a treacle that has the effect of slowing down the particle.
There are a few things that don't quite fit in my mind, but thats probably down to me not having a full understanding, in fact I suppose nobody really understands fully, so I don't feel too bad. The Higgs must have appeared at the same point as the big bang or very very soon afterwards, otherwise surely the particles it gives mass too would be too far away for it to interact, they'd be 182,000 or so miles away in a second if they move at light speed. I think im going to confuse myself soon so ill stop typing now.
Joined: Feb 18 2006 Posts: 18610 Location: Somewhere in Bonny Donny (Twinned with Krakatoa in 1883).
davet wrote:My understanding (I read a few articles a while back so I may miss some details) is that the 'Higgs field' permeates all space and interacts with some particles whilst others pass through without any interaction taking place. Particles without mass are massless because they don't interact with the Higgs. Particles with mass have it because they do interact and in effect are slowed down by the Higgs field, its this slowing down that gives the mass to the particle (am I right in thinking that massless particles travel at light speed by definition?). Maybe a good analogy is a massless particle whizzing along at the speed of light, then interacting with the Higgs and it being like a treacle that has the effect of slowing down the particle.
There are a few things that don't quite fit in my mind, but thats probably down to me not having a full understanding, in fact I suppose nobody really understands fully, so I don't feel too bad. The Higgs must have appeared at the same point as the big bang or very very soon afterwards, otherwise surely the particles it gives mass too would be too far away for it to interact, they'd be 182,000 or so miles away in a second if they move at light speed. I think im going to confuse myself soon so ill stop typing now.
By your figures it might be 4,000 miles ahead waiting in ambush at the end of that second.
War does not determine who is right - only who is left.
davet wrote:My understanding (I read a few articles a while back so I may miss some details) is that the 'Higgs field' permeates all space and interacts with some particles whilst others pass through without any interaction taking place. Particles without mass are massless because they don't interact with the Higgs. Particles with mass have it because they do interact and in effect are slowed down by the Higgs field, its this slowing down that gives the mass to the particle (am I right in thinking that massless particles travel at light speed by definition?). Maybe a good analogy is a massless particle whizzing along at the speed of light, then interacting with the Higgs and it being like a treacle that has the effect of slowing down the particle.
There are a few things that don't quite fit in my mind, but thats probably down to me not having a full understanding, in fact I suppose nobody really understands fully, so I don't feel too bad. The Higgs must have appeared at the same point as the big bang or very very soon afterwards, otherwise surely the particles it gives mass too would be too far away for it to interact, they'd be 182,000 or so miles away in a second if they move at light speed. I think im going to confuse myself soon so ill stop typing now.
Yes, for example, Photons.
The Higgs Boson will have been formed after the big bang as the universe cooled
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