To answer this question, a theory was posited about a Higgs field whose associated particles have a mass. This begs the question of why some particles have mass and others do not. One example of a boson is a photon, which is a particle associated with the electromagnetic field and lacking mass this is the reason why it travels at the speed of light, unlike the so-called W-boson and Z-boson, which are associated to the weak nuclear force and which have a mass, meaning that they encounter resistance and travel more slowly. While fermions make up solid matter, bosons are “force” particles tied to the forces of nature, that is to say, gravity, the electromagnetic force and the nuclear force, whether weak or strong. These atoms are in turn formed by subatomic particles known as fermions and bosons. We know that we are formed by atoms – not just us, but the entire universe. But let’s avoid confusion and start at the beginning, which is where everything begins, even songs. This field extends throughout the universe, and it is named after the physicist who discovered it, Peter Higgs. Scientific curiosity applied to the Higgs boson shows us that mass expresses the resistance formed by the Higgs quantum field. The Higgs boson is an elementary particle relating to mass, a property without which the universe could not have been created. This gives some sense of the impact that the discovery of the Higgs boson had at the popular level. It is a sad sort of song, delivered in a broken voice, as if by a crooner of the dark a song where the search and the journey are described in a tone that sounds more sinister than familiar. If there is one certainty regarding the Higgs boson, it is that this particle lies somewhere between scientific communication and pop iconography.Īs a matter of fact, there is a song by Nick Cave called Higgs Boson Blues.
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