Have you ever wondered how the universe keeps itself together? Well, in science you have probably learned that almost everything has mass. But what gives things mass? The answer is the Higgs Field, which is a very interesting topic in science.
Higgs Field and Particle
The Higgs Field is a field of energy thought to exist everywhere in the universe. The particle known as the Higgs boson accompanies it, and is used by the field to interact with other particles. Particles are given mass when they interact with the field, preventing them from travelling at the speed of light. Although new mass is not generated, as that would violate the Law of Conservation of Mass, mass is gained by particles that interact with the Higgs boson. If the Higgs field did not exist, there would be no attraction as particles would not have enough mass to attract one another, and everything would float at light speed (3.00 x 10^8) around the universe.
The Higgs effect is the action of the Higgs field giving mass to an object. The Higgs boson and Higgs effect were proven at the Large Hadron Collider in 2017.
Although the Higgs field and particle are a big part of what keeps our universe’s stability, the consequences if it collapses are severe.
What Happens if the Higgs Field Collapses?
The Higgs field collapsing would cause a scenario known as “Vacuum decay of the universe”. If the Higgs field were to enter a lower plane of energy, which could happen at any time, then the effects would be so instant that we would barely have any time to react. The field would enter the lower state of energy and release a lot of potential energy, and would create a vacuum that would expand in all directions at the speed of light, destroying anything it comes into contact with, and eventually destroying the universe as we know it. Not only that, the fundamental physics that we have learned about our universe would be flipped on its head, creating a completely different set of physics than the one we know. Not only would vacuum decay likely wipe out the universe, but if anything managed to survive, the universal properties of physics would be altered so much that life would be impossible.
Simpsons Predict the “God Particle”
The Simpsons are known for making some insane predictions, such as Donald’s Trump’s presidency and the horse meat scandal. Well, in an episode titled “The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace”, Homer Simpson begins making inventions, such as the makeup gun. (Hear me out, this leads somewhere.) At one point, while Homer Simpson is writing mathematical equations on a chalkboard, one of the equations seems to match up almost exactly with the formula for the mass of the Higgs boson.
Specialist Simon Singh told the Independent “If you work it out, you get the mass of a Higgs boson that’s only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is. It’s kind of amazing as Homer makes this prediction 14 years before it was discovered.”
Related Articles:
https://bigthink.com/hard-science/vacuum-decay-end-of-the-universe/
https://home.cern/resources/faqs/facts-and-figures-about-lhc
https://magnanimousmarek.com/higgs-field-higgs-particle/
Take Action:
https://home.cern/science/accelerators/large-hadron-collider
