Higgs Boson

[Mathematistic]

They found it.
Discuss. (I know nothing about it, so...)

[Jenkar]

Higgs boson is a moderator. Known to teach maturity, be teasing, doing an awesome work, that invested a lot of time in the community. While harsh at times, it's just for our own good :3

Owait. Particle.

[Chemist]

Actually it's not yet official that they found the Higgs boson, though they did discover a new particle which is so far consistent with what the Higgs particle has been predicted to be like.

But yeah, they've most likely got it - which confirms the standard model of quantum mechanics. Now that they can produce the particle they can run experiments on it to determine some more specifics of how it behaves. It's still difficult to imagine applications for this now, but it was hard to imagine them for electricity back when the scientific pioneers were doing their groundbreaking experiments with it.

All in all, scientists (and engineers) triumph once again. With this all particles of the standard model are accounted for and we can explain why matter has mass.

[BluePriest]

Ive heard a lot about the higgs boson, but I dont understand what it is. I asked a friend of mine, and he essentially said that it is what everything else is made up of. Is that right?

[Rutarete]

Ive heard a lot about the higgs boson, but I dont understand what it is. I asked a friend of mine, and he essentially said that it is what everything else is made up of. Is that right?

Something like "The fabric that holds everything together" is how I understand it.

[pikachufan2164]

A nice explanatory video from PhD Comics: http://www.phdcomics.com/higgs/index.php?page=0

[Bloodshadow]

Ive heard a lot about the higgs boson, but I dont understand what it is. I asked a friend of mine, and he essentially said that it is what everything else is made up of. Is that right?

Something like "The fabric that holds everything together" is how I understand it.

No. Everything is not made of the Higgs boson, and it definitely does not hold everything together.

The Higgs boson merely gives mass to elementary particles like quarks and electrons. Quarks make up protons and neutrons, yes, but only about 20% of the mass of a proton or neutron is from its constituent quarks; the rest of the proton or neutron's mass is from the energy that binds the quarks together. In other words, only 20% of a proton or neutron's mass is from the Higgs boson.

[juan_de_diablo]

A Higgs Boson walks into a church, and the priest says, "We don't allow your kind here." The Higgs looks at the priest and says, "But without us, you wouldn't have mass!"

Joking aside, I tend to be more interested in astronomy science. Chemistry tends to confound me. That being said, this is one of the greatest scientific discoveries of our time. Good work, LHC!

[Bloodshadow]

A Higgs Boson walks into a church, and the priest says, "We don't allow your kind here." The Higgs looks at the priest and says, "But without us, you wouldn't have mass!"

As I've explained above, you actually can have mass without the Higgs boson.

[juan_de_diablo]

A Higgs Boson walks into a church, and the priest says, "We don't allow your kind here." The Higgs looks at the priest and says, "But without us, you wouldn't have mass!"

As I've explained above, you actually can have mass without the Higgs boson.

lol, it was just a joke, after all.  I thought it was pretty funny when I heard it...

[OldTrees]

A Higgs Boson walks into a church, and the priest says, "We don't allow your kind here." The Higgs looks at the priest and says, "But without us, you wouldn't have mass!"

As I've explained above, you actually can have mass without the Higgs boson.

Why/How does the Higgs boson cause particles to clump?

[Bloodshadow]

Why/How does the Higgs boson cause particles to clump?

It doesn't. The Higgs boson gives elementary particles mass. The gluon, the carrier of the strong nuclear force, causes quarks to form protons and neutrons. Most of the mass of the protons and neutrons come from the gluons' energy. There are no direct relations between Higgs bosons and gluons.