The deconstructed Standard Model equation - symmetry magazine
WEBThe deconstructed Standard Model equation. 07/28/16. By Rashmi Shivni. The Standard Model is far more than elementary particles arranged in a table. The Standard Model of particle physics is often visualized as a table, similar to the periodic table of elements, and used to describe particle properties, such as mass, charge and spin.
What the Higgs boson tells us about the universe
WEB02/21/23. By R.M. Davis. The Higgs boson is the only fundamental particle known to be scalar, meaning it has no quantum spin. This fact answers questions about our universe, but it also raises new ones. When it was first discovered in 2012, the Higgs boson captured the popular imagination and became the subject of intense scientific scrutiny.
What is a photon? - symmetry magazine
WEBWhat physicists refer to as photons, other people might just call light. As quanta of light, photons are the smallest possible packets of electromagnetic energy. If you are reading this article on a screen or a page, streams of photons are carrying the images of the words to your eyes. In science, photons are used for more than just illumination.
The Planck scale - symmetry magazine
WEBSep 24, 2024 · The Planck scale. 05/19/16. By Rashmi Shivni. The Planck scale sets the universe’s minimum limit, beyond which the laws of physics break. In the late 1890s, physicist Max Planck proposed a set of units to simplify the expression of physics laws. Using just five constants in nature (including the speed of …
What is a “particle”? - symmetry magazine
WEBEveryone has heard of Einstein’s famed E=mc 2. Part of what that means is that making a particle requires energy proportional to its mass. Neutrinos, which are very low mass, are easy to make; electrons have a higher threshold, while heavy Higgs bosons need a huge amount of energy. Photons are easiest of all to make, because they don't have ...
Five facts about the Big Bang | symmetry magazine
WEBThe Big Bang theory explains where all the hydrogen and helium in the universe came from. In the 1940s, Ralph Alpher and George Gamow calculated that the early universe was hot and dense enough to make virtually all the helium, lithium and deuterium (hydrogen with a neutron attached) present in the cosmos today; later research showed where the primordial hydrogen came from. This is known as ...
What is the electroweak force? - symmetry magazine
WEBNov 30, 2023 · One force, divisible. Physicists use equations of motion to describe how matter and force particles interact, painting a picture of their likely movements and behavior. The electromagnetic force, the weak force, and their corresponding particles can all be described by what are known as gauge theories, mathematical tools that physicists use to ...
Eight things you might not know about light - symmetry magazine
WEBHere are eight enlightening facts about photons: 1. Photons can produce shock waves in water or air, similar to sonic booms. Nothing can travel faster than the speed of light in a vacuum. However, light slows down in air, water, glass and other materials as photons interact with atoms, which has some interesting consequences.
Massless particles can’t be stopped | symmetry magazine
WEBJul 23, 2019 · The two particles physicists know to be (at least approximately) massless—photons and gluons—are both force-carrying particles, also known as gauge bosons. Photons are associated with the electromagnetic force, and gluons are associated with the strong force. (The graviton, a gauge boson associated with gravity, is …
What is luminosity? - symmetry magazine
WEBFeb 3, 2021 · As you may have noticed, when physicists talk about particle collisions, they talk about a measurement called luminosity. It doesn’t tell scientists exactly how many particle collisions are happening inside a collider; rather, luminosity measures how tightly packed the particles are in the beams that cross.