The Higgs Boson and Beyond

Professor Carroll tackles the question of why the discovery of the Higgs boson is such a big deal; the world of modern particle physics; how the Higgs is the missing piece of a scientific puzzle that helps one understand the "rules" for the universe.

Exploring the big twist of quantum field theory that the world is not really made of particles; they are figments of quantum mechanics created by observing the fields that fill the universe; grasping this is essential to understanding the Higgs.

Walking through the "particle zoo"; exploring the roles of photons, gluons and quarks; the development of the Standard Model; how the changing understanding of the weak nuclear field suggests the existence of the Higgs years before its finding.

Symmetries do not only apply to geometrical objects; they apply to the laws of physics themselves; exploring how symmetry governs the known forces of nature; how it helps form a theory that an as-yet-undiscovered particle must exist.

The decades-long hunt for the Higgs; meeting brilliant minds such as Anderson, Englert and Higgs who set out to solve the mystery of the weak nuclear field; discovering why Angelina Jolie is like a top quark.

Classical physics provides insight into what makes the Higgs so special; uncovering the key to the Higgs's uniqueness in the particle zoo; even at its minimum energy state, the Higgs field has a large, constant value.