I've been trying to grasp basic quantum theories and I'm currently struggling in my head with the Higgs Boson. Higgs himself scoffed at 'scientists who should know better' when they tried to describe a particle's interaction with mass as wading through treacle. So I've formulated my own analogy. I know there are folk here with a much greater knowledge so here goes.
Picture mass as a light mist. Now throw a tennis ball through that mist and it comes out damp at the other end (it has acquired mass). Now picture a smooth rubber ball travelling through the mist and it comes out much wetter than the tennis ball (which is furry). This is my interpretation of different particles interacting with the field in different ways. Now picture a ball that repels water travelling through the mist. It comes out dry. This is like a photon which does not acquire mass.
Now, imagine a sheet of glass onto which some of the mist condenses. The glass is the energy of a collider and the condensation is the Higgs Boson. It comes from the mist but is now in a different state. But, you might ask, what about all the rest of the condensation on the glass? Well, theoretically, the Higgs Boson should have a much greater mass than we see (10 to the nineteen giga-electron volts instead of the 125 giga-electron volts currently seen). Perhaps, if we section off the glass, we can limit the amount of condensation in any one place (limit the Higgs mass) or perhaps something else is taking up the rest of the condensation. Supersymmetry? Who knows? Certainly not me.
I don't know if I'm even close to grasping this.
Picture mass as a light mist. Now throw a tennis ball through that mist and it comes out damp at the other end (it has acquired mass). Now picture a smooth rubber ball travelling through the mist and it comes out much wetter than the tennis ball (which is furry). This is my interpretation of different particles interacting with the field in different ways. Now picture a ball that repels water travelling through the mist. It comes out dry. This is like a photon which does not acquire mass.
Now, imagine a sheet of glass onto which some of the mist condenses. The glass is the energy of a collider and the condensation is the Higgs Boson. It comes from the mist but is now in a different state. But, you might ask, what about all the rest of the condensation on the glass? Well, theoretically, the Higgs Boson should have a much greater mass than we see (10 to the nineteen giga-electron volts instead of the 125 giga-electron volts currently seen). Perhaps, if we section off the glass, we can limit the amount of condensation in any one place (limit the Higgs mass) or perhaps something else is taking up the rest of the condensation. Supersymmetry? Who knows? Certainly not me.
I don't know if I'm even close to grasping this.