Peter Higgs and his Nobel prizewinning boson
What is the Higgs boson ?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16116236
http://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2013/oct/08/peter-higgs-profile-nobel-prize-video
Even before he won this year's physics Nobel prize, Peter Higgs had already earned his place in history. But how did a 'hopeless experimenter' – whose original paper was rejected for being of 'no relevance to particle physics' – figure out half a century ago how elementary particles get their masses? And what is a Higgs boson anyway?
http://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2013/oct/12/peter-higgs-winning-nobel-award-physics-video
Physicist and Nobel laureate Peter Higgs responds to winning the Nobel award for physics at a press conference in Edinburgh on Friday. Higgs was awarded the prestigious accolade jointly with his Belgian colleague, Francois Englert, for their work on the Higgs Boson particle. Higgs says he first learnt he had won the prize when a former neighbour informed him on the street.
http://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2012/jul/06/peter-higgs-edinburgh-university-video
The physicist who gave his name to the elusive god particle that scientists believe they have found said on Friday it was 'very nice to be right'. Prof Higgs gave his reaction to the discovery in a press conference at the University of Edinburgh. The Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics will bring together scientists from around the world to seek an even deeper understanding of how the universe works.
http://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2012/jul/04/cern-higgs-boson-video
Scientists at the Cern research centre in Switzerland reveal they have found a new subatomic particle that could be the Higgs boson. The announcement was greeted by rousing cheers and a few tears from the audience. The finding marks a breakthrough in understanding of the fundamental laws that govern the universe.
http://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2011/dec/14/higgs-boson-cern-god-particle-video
Scientists at Cern, the European particle physics laboratory in Switzerland, believe they have seen a hint of the Higgs boson. The results are inconclusive. But confirming the existence of the so-called God particle would confirm how elementary particles acquire mass, and would be the most coveted prize in physics.
My essay on the basics of quantum theory and particle physics :-https://www.facebook.com/notes/joseph-k-h-cheng/basic-concepts-in-quantum-mechanics-part-i-of-iv/166929050031700
ReplyDeleteJohn Dalton's atomic theory in 1808 states that all matter is made up of atoms which cannot be created, destroyed or divided. All chemical changes are the result of combination or separation of atoms. Then in 1897, Joseph John Thomson pioneered the first model of the atom. It was supposed to be a sphere of positively charged protons in which negatively charged electrons are embedded to cancel out the positive charge. The most popular concept of the atom is the Rutherford model proposed by him in 1911. Later, Niels Bohr refined this image of the atom in 1913 to restrict the electrons circulating around the atomic nucleus to certain “ allowed orbits “ due to the quantization of energy.
ReplyDeleteSince then, more details have come to light about the internal structure of the atom. Besides the protons forming the atomic nucleus, scientists also discovered that certain elements like carbon and iodine have atoms of the same element in different weights. This apparent anomoly was later accounted for by the discovery of the neutron in 1932 by James Chadwick. The difference in weight is the result of these elements having a fixed number of protons ( its atomic number ) but with different number of neutrons in their atomic nucleus. These different variants of the same elements are known as isotopes.
Further developments in the field of particle physics in the Sixties saw deeper insights into the atomic nucleus. In 1964, Gell-Mann discovered that the protons and neutrons are further made up of indivisible particles called Quarks.
Besides studying the internal structure of the atom the particle accelerators also mimic the high energy conditions at the early stages of the creation of the universe. If particle accelerators can reveal the true nature of matter, it ought to be possible to understand how the basic building blocks of matter were created at the Big Bang thereby subjecting the Big Bang Theory to experimental verification. Therefore, there is a close link between particle physics and cosmology. However, there are obvious problems with the Standard Model in particle physics. As more and more experiments are carried out in particle accelerators, more and more different types of particles are created. By the Nineties, more than two hundred different types of elementary particles have been produced in accelerator experiments. This curious collection of particles has been dubbed the “ particles zoo “. This is a most embarrassing situation for the particle physicists. If there were really more than two hundred new particles being discovered they could hardly be called elementary. Common sense will tell you that the basic laws of nature could not be that cumbersome. Moreover, there is a strange similarity between some of the particles. Quite a few are similar in properties in all respects except their mass. This raises the suspicion that they are, in fact, the same particles but produced under different levels of energy. Besides the great varieties of particles produced, there is also the enigma that quarks which form the atomic nucleus are never detected as individual entities. The particle physicists are pretty sure that quarks really exist because detailed probing of the atomic nucleus by highly technical and advanced equipments have revealed a granular structure. The third and biggest weakness of the Standard Model is its failure to meet the highest objective of the Grand Unification of all the four known forces of nature. As it is, the Standard Model describes the working of the electromagnetic force, the weak and strong nuclear forces in terms of exchanges of elementary particles. For example, the electromagnetic force operates by exchanges of electrons. However, it does not throw any
light on the working of gravity.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/boson-s-naming-after-satyendra-nath-bose-bigger-honour-than-nobel-say-indian-physicists-429608?curl=1381316602
ReplyDeleteProminent Indian physicists say that naming of the 'God particle' Boson after Indian scientist Satyendra Nath Bose is the biggest honour.
ReplyDeleteThe reactions came after Britain's Peter Higgs and Belgian Francois Englert won this year's Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on the 'God particle'.
Link to my book :-https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxqa2hjbGlmZXN0eWxlfGd4OjM5NmM2NTViMjAzY2M5MTk
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