Physicist Higgs who proposed the ‘God particle’ dies at 94
Professor Peter Higgs, the Nobel Prize-winning British physicist, has died aged 94.
Prof Higgs worked on subatomic particles in the 1960s and theorised the existence of the socalled “God particle” that helped explain how matter formed after the Big Bang and was essential in keeping the fabric of the universe together by giving other particles mass.
Scientists working at CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, used the Large Hadron Collider to prove his theory correct almost 50 years later.
The 2012 proof of the existence of the boson, which was named after Prof Higgs, was a seminal moment for subatomic physics as it validated the Standard Model theory upon which the entire knowledge of the universe is built.
Prof Higgs won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics alongside Francois Englert for his work which said that a particle, now the eponymous boson, was the particle responsible for giving all other particles mass.
This essential role of creating mass, done in conjunction with the Higgs field, allows for the creation and function of the universe as we know it, from planets and stars to entire galaxies.
It can’t be easily found and needs to be created by smashing particles together at almost the speed of light, however, the ethereal particle decays almost instantly and is hard to detect.
It can only be created in around one in a billion collisions at CERN and the detectors had to accurately find the particle which had a spin of zero, a unique trait and a telltale sign of the Higgs boson.
The evidence of the existence of the Higgs boson allowed scientists to confidently work from the bedrock provided by the Standard Model and is a central dogma in all forms of physics, from quantum mechanics to astrophysics.
Higgs, an ex-BBC sound engineer, was publicity-shy and hid in his local pub in Edinburgh on the day of the Nobel announcement so the Nobel Committee would not be able to find him.
Edinburgh University said that Prof Peter Higgs passed away peacefully at home on Monday, following a short illness. University principal Prof Peter Mathieson said: “Peter Higgs was a remarkable individual − a truly gifted scientist whose vision and imagination have enriched our knowledge of the world that surrounds us.
“His pioneering work has motivated thousands of scientists, and his legacy will continue to inspire many more for generations to come.” (© Telegraph Media Group Ltd 2024)