The Mysteries of Mass

[starrmtn001]

PHYSICS

 

The Mysteries of Mass

 

Physicists are hunting for an elusive particle that would reveal the presence of a new kind of field that permeates all of reality. Finding that Higgs field will give us a more complete understanding about how the universe works

By Gordon Kane.

 

For full article, See "Scientific American" link below.

 

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&colID=1&articleID=000005FC-2927-12B3-A92783414B7F0000

[Tormod]

Great link, thanks.

[bumab]

Thanks- this has been a curiosity of mine for a while. Mass and intertia- is intertia a property of mass, or is mass simply a measurement of intertia? Or are they equivalent?

[UncleAl]

There is reason to wonder whether mass exists as a fundamental observable at all. Mass is the only observable calibrated by a physical artifact - the Pt-10% IR Paris kilogram. All of the six other primary measurements are abstract quantities generated in apparatus. The Standard Model is 100% massless. 18 empirical masses are inserted by hand and the Higgs mechanism added to rationalize observed reality. No theory of gravitation contains mass as such.

 

Suppose the LHC starting in 2007 finds no Higgs particle. They know where it cannot be low and high energy. If it isn't in the middle interval, then what? Then it gets interesting.

[Qfwfq]

Suppose the LHC starting in 2007 finds no Higgs particle. They know where it cannot be low and high energy. If it isn't in the middle interval, then what? Then it gets interesting.

Good point.

 

I also heard much the same said by the head of the Italian part of the SLAC group, some time after their Delphi rivals had observed the top quark.

[quantum quack]

could it be possible that the Higgs particle is an inverse force , a bit like anti-matter might be?

[Aki]

Suppose the LHC starting in 2007 finds no Higgs particle. They know where it cannot be low and high energy. If it isn't in the middle interval, then what? Then it gets interesting.

 

I think it's going to have a huge impact on the string theory. Do you think that there will be less supporters for the string theory then? And also, if they don't find a higg, then that proves that higgs isn't dark matter, then what is dark matter made of? I think things are just going to get ugly if they don't find a Higgs particle at LHC.

[Jay-qu]

ugly, maybe... but it should be really interesting, some big ideas can be made or broke if the higg is found or not found - ie string theory, im excited