Time magazine (Dec.
31) has named Fabiola Gianotti one of its five Persons of the Year for
her work in discovering the Higgs boson at the European Organization for
Nuclear Research (CERN). This is the boson that has been called the
"God particle" because it explains the origin of matter in the
universe. Gianotti and her physicist colleague, Joe Incandela, have, as Time
puts it, "nailed the particle that gives other fundamental particles
their mass."
Apparently proof of the Higgs boson's existence is quite a relief for several reasons. First, basic particles do not necessarily have mass; the photon, for example, which is the basic quantum of light, has no mass. So physicists can breathe easier now that they have confirmed in the lab what they (and everyone else) can see quite clearly but hadn't been able to exactly explain until now. Mass exists—and now we know why—or rather how—matter was and is created.
Physicists are relieved too because now they don't have to explain the absence of mass. That condition would have been hard to square with what we can see in the real world. If there had been a universe without mass, quantum mechanics would have been forced to explain how something (a universe) could be made of nothing (particles without mass). That's a tough one.
Finally, the Higgs boson has provided the last piece of the puzzle known as the "standard model," which is an even trickier concept than the business of creating mass. Time puts it this way: "The so-called standard model of physics, [is] the grand framework that ties together the universe's three great forces--the strong force, the weak force and electromagnetism--and governs the behavior of sub-atomic particles." By confirming the standard model, the Higgs boson has shown that the last fifty years spent looking for it have not been a stroll down a dead end street.
Persons of the year aside, it's absolutely breathtaking to contemplate everything that is going on within every atom every minute of every day, stretching back in time to the origin of the universe some 13.5 billion years ago. It's astonishing there can even be something called "the behavior of sub-atomic particles." And we have Fabiola Gianotti (and Joe Incandela) to thank for proving the Higgs boson actually does exist, thereby showing not only how particles get their mass, but also confirming one of the predictions of the so-called “standard model” originally posited in the 1960s. Everything is now locked neatly into place.
Unless or until, that is, Ms. Gianotti looks even deeper into atoms to discover new facts that create new mysteries that will launch the next generation of quantum mechanics in a new direction that will take another century or so to examine and re-examine before a new theory emerges that will in turn launch new investigations with new problems to resolve. Which the next generation after them will address. It’s the way of science, the way of the world, the way of homo sapiens: rational man. It's humankind at its very best.
Apparently proof of the Higgs boson's existence is quite a relief for several reasons. First, basic particles do not necessarily have mass; the photon, for example, which is the basic quantum of light, has no mass. So physicists can breathe easier now that they have confirmed in the lab what they (and everyone else) can see quite clearly but hadn't been able to exactly explain until now. Mass exists—and now we know why—or rather how—matter was and is created.
Physicists are relieved too because now they don't have to explain the absence of mass. That condition would have been hard to square with what we can see in the real world. If there had been a universe without mass, quantum mechanics would have been forced to explain how something (a universe) could be made of nothing (particles without mass). That's a tough one.
Finally, the Higgs boson has provided the last piece of the puzzle known as the "standard model," which is an even trickier concept than the business of creating mass. Time puts it this way: "The so-called standard model of physics, [is] the grand framework that ties together the universe's three great forces--the strong force, the weak force and electromagnetism--and governs the behavior of sub-atomic particles." By confirming the standard model, the Higgs boson has shown that the last fifty years spent looking for it have not been a stroll down a dead end street.
Persons of the year aside, it's absolutely breathtaking to contemplate everything that is going on within every atom every minute of every day, stretching back in time to the origin of the universe some 13.5 billion years ago. It's astonishing there can even be something called "the behavior of sub-atomic particles." And we have Fabiola Gianotti (and Joe Incandela) to thank for proving the Higgs boson actually does exist, thereby showing not only how particles get their mass, but also confirming one of the predictions of the so-called “standard model” originally posited in the 1960s. Everything is now locked neatly into place.
Unless or until, that is, Ms. Gianotti looks even deeper into atoms to discover new facts that create new mysteries that will launch the next generation of quantum mechanics in a new direction that will take another century or so to examine and re-examine before a new theory emerges that will in turn launch new investigations with new problems to resolve. Which the next generation after them will address. It’s the way of science, the way of the world, the way of homo sapiens: rational man. It's humankind at its very best.
No comments:
Post a Comment