The God Particle

The God Particle is the nickname given to a theorized sub-atomic particle called the Higgs Boson particle, or simply the Higgs particle. The nickname comes from the premise the particle is the source of all mass, or weight, in the Universe.

All matter has the property of mass - you, me, dogs, atoms, sub-atomic particles, etc. The Higgs particle explains WHY all matter has mass.

Actually, the Higgs particle carries a field that gives mass to all matter. The field permeates EVERYTHING and exists EVERYWHERE. Think of a Jedi night in Star Wars as a carrier of the force. The Higgs particle is the carrier for the Higgs field.

As objects (me, you, cars, airplanes, sub-atomic particles, etc) move through the Higgs field, resistance is encountered. Resistance to the Higgs force produces mass and weight. Objects that have little resistance to the Higgs force have smaller mass and weight. For example, the photon, a particle of light, offers no resistance to the Higgs force and thus, has zero mass and weight. Objects like you and I have mass and weight because we cause resistance in the field.

The Higgs particle is essential to the standard model of physics which posits that everything in the Universe can be explained from twelve basic building blocks called fundamental particles that are governed by four fundamental forces (except for gravity which Einstein posited in his general theory of relativity is NOT the result of a particle carrying a field).

The problem is that no one has ever discovered a Higgs particle. Hopes are high, however, the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider on Geneva will locate the Higgs Boson particle which would confirm the standard model of physics.

Why should you care?

The issue is that the standard model of physics fails to explain mass. If the Higgs particle is not discovered the standard model of physics will need to be rewritten. Yikes!

The discovery has the potential to be the greatest scientific discovery of the century leading to a unified theory of everything or the greatest scientific mistake. The entire world of physics waits with eager anticipation.

For those desiring to know more, check out:
http://www.school-for-champions.com/Science/matter.htm
http://public.web.cern.ch/Public/en/Science/StandardModel-en.html
http://public.web.cern.ch/public/en/LHC/LHC-en.html
http://public.web.cern.ch/public/en/Science/Higgs-en.html
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1729139,00.html
http://www.aei.mpg.de/einsteinOnline/en/elementary/generalRT/GeomGravity/index.html