In our final segment, we cover the Higgs Boson starting with force fields and their particles.
First we cover Quantum Electrodynamics - QED. We note that a disturbance in the field can create a particle – the photon. We show how the virtual photon mediates the electromagnetic force with virtual photons that are actually not particles. We also introduce coupling constants and Feynman Diagrams. We then extend this ‘force particle from a force field’ concept to include a matter particle from a matter field. In electromagnetic quantum field theory, this is the electron.
Next we cover Quantum Chromodynamics – QCD. We show how the electromagnetic force is used as the model for the strong nuclear force that holds quarks together in protons and neutrons and holds protons and neutrons together in the atomic nucleus. We introduce color charge, gluons, virtual gluons, quark containment, and pion exchange between nucleons (the residual strong force). We also highlight the origin of mass for the proton. We then fill out the Standard Model of particle physics with the weak nuclear force and its force particles - the W and Z bosons. Using Beta Decay, we show how this force can change the actual particle in an interaction, not just accelerate it.
Next we discuss spin oscillation as the origin of mass for elementary particles that lead to the Higgs Field and the Higgs Mechanism, and, as with all other fields, a disturbance in the Higgs Filed should create a particle – the Higgs boson.
We’ll conclude with a brief look at what the standard model doesn’t cover (like gravity) and some of the theories in development that may very well take physics to the next level. We end with a description of Planck’s Length and its implications for the next generation of physicists.