Science and Technology
What is the “God Particle”?
No, the “God Particle” isn’t about religion or belief systems.
It is a nickname for a fascinating concept in science — the Higgs boson, a particle that helps us understand why things around us have mass, such as why you, your desk, and everything else have mass.
Let’s break it down. Everything around you is made up of matter, and all matter has something called mass. Mass measures how much “stuff” something contains. But have you ever wondered why things have mass? Why do the atoms in your body or a chair have a mass?
To find the answer, we need to go back to the 1960s. A scientist named Peter Higgs proposed an important idea. He suggested the existence of an invisible field throughout the universe, called the Higgs field. This field isn’t grassy. It’s more like an invisible energy field that fills the universe. Although we can’t see it, it interacts with everything.
Imagine this: The Higgs field is like a thick layer of mud. As particles like electrons and protons — the building blocks of everything — move through this field, they experience resistance. It is much like how you struggle to move through mud. This resistance makes the particles appear heavier. This interaction with the Higgs field is what gives…
