The Higgs Boson: For Dummies

        Introduction 

  On July 4th, CERN scientists made one of the greatest discoveries in the world of Particle Physics. A particle similar to the Higgs Boson was discovered!

If you aren't a 'Professor of Particle Physics' or 'Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory', I recommend that you read on.    

         What is the Higgs Boson?

    First, let's talk about the Higgs Field. The Higgs Field is responsible for giving particles their mass. But that's all depending on how a particle interacts with the field. A particle that interacts with the field has more mass than a particle that doesn't interact with the field. 

Here is an example:

  Imagine being in the middle of an endless layer of snow. If you have ski-shoes on, you would be able to glide through the snow at a fast speed without interacting with the snow. Kind of like a particle with less mass. If you have snow-shoes on, you will move slowly because you are interacting with the snow. Kind of like a particle that has more mass. Snow is made of snowflakes. In comparison,
the Higgs Field is made of "bundles of energy" quanta. 
This is the Higgs Boson. 

                   History Lesson

  In 1964, scientist Peter Higgs proposed the idea of a Higgs Boson.
The Higgs representing the Higgs Field. And the Boson representing "bundles of energy" quanta that make up the        Higgs Field. The Boson is named in honor after                 Satyendra Nath Bose, because of his work with Albert Einstein using subatomic particles.


After reading this article, I hope you have a better understanding of what the Higgs Boson is.