Higgs boson
Particle conferring mass
The Higgs boson is a subatomic particle that explains why other particles have mass.
Predicted in the 1960s and confirmed in 2012 at the Large Hadron Collider, its discovery validated a central piece of particle physics theory.
The particle interacts with a field that permeates the universe; particles acquire mass through this interaction.
Sometimes called the "God particle"—a nickname physicists generally dislike.
European nuclear research organization
- LHCMassive subatomic collision facility
- colliderDual-beam particle accelerator
- 2012Recent leap year
- CMSWeb publishing platform
detector · Nobel Prize · confirmation · announcement · sigma · statistical significance · collaboration · Geneva
Quantity with magnitude only
- unstableProne to sudden change
- decayGradual organic breakdown
- lifetimeDuration of existence
- cross-sectionView through interior
resonance · width · elementary · fundamental · neutral · colorless
Sustained price level increase
- Big BangUniverse's explosive origin
- phase transitionMatter shifting between states
- metastableStable but not permanently
- dark matterLightless cosmic mass
Having zero mass
- couplingJoint between systems
- Mexican hatBroad-brimmed Latin American headwear
- inertiaResistance to altered motion
Fundamental interaction causing radioactive decay
- fermionsHalf-spin matter constituents
- electromagnetismForce linking charge and magnetism
- unificationMerging into one entity
CERN
European nuclear research organization
CMS · detector · Nobel Prize · confirmation · announcement · sigma · statistical significance · collaboration · Geneva · evidence
scalar
Quantity with magnitude only
cross-section · resonance · width · elementary · fundamental · neutral · colorless
inflation
Sustained price level increase
- Big BangUniverse's explosive origin
- phase transitionMatter shifting between states
- metastableStable but not permanently
massless
Having zero mass
- couplingJoint between systems
- Mexican hatBroad-brimmed Latin American headwear
- inertiaResistance to altered motion
weak force
Fundamental interaction causing radioactive decay
- fermionsHalf-spin matter constituents
- electromagnetismForce linking charge and magnetism
- unificationMerging into one entity