The Higgs Boson: Searching for the God Particle

The Higgs Boson: Searching for the God Particle by the Editors of Scientific American

Updated 2017 Edition! For the fifth anniversary of one of the biggest discoveries in physics, we€ve updated this eBook to include our continuing analysis of the discovery, of the questions it answers and those it raises. As the old adage goes, where there€s smoke, there€s fire. Where there is effect, there must be cause. The planet Neptune was found in 1846 because the mathematics of Newton's laws, when applied to the orbit of Uranus, said some massive body had to be there. Astronomers eventually found it, using the best telescopes available to peer into the sky. This same logic is applied to the search for the Higgs boson. One consequence of the prevailing theory of physics, called the Standard Model, is that there has to be some field that gives particles their particular masses. With that there has to be a corresponding particle, made by creating waves in the field, and this is the Higgs boson, the so-called God particle. This eBook chronicles the search €“ and demonstrates the power of a good theory. Based on the Standard Model, physicists believed something had to be there, but it wasn't until the Large Hadron Collider was built that anyone could see evidence of the Higgs €“ and finally in July 2012, they did. A Higgs-like particle was found near the energies scientists expected to find it. Now, armed with better evidence and better questions, the scientific process continues. This eBook gathers the best reporting and analysis from Scientific American to explain that process €“ the theories, the search, the ongoing questions. In essence, everything you need to know to separate Higgs from hype.