The basics of the Higgs boson - Dave Barney and Steve Goldfarb

In 2012, scientists at CERN discovered evidence of the Higgs boson. The what? The Higgs boson is one of two types of fundamental particles and is a particular game-changer in the field of particle physics, proving how particles gain mass. Using the Socratic method, CERN scientists Dave Barney and Steve Goldfarb explain the exciting implications of the Higgs boson.

Lesson by Dave Barney and Steve Goldfarb, animation by Jeanette Nørgaard.

[stevensyro]

I swear, they should make a cartoon serie like this with the same art style, with these two exploring the word of science. I do not often comment, but this episode is too great.

[maniac]

I really like the vibe the animation gives off. Almost a creepy feeling, but happy as well

[StudioNB]

Seriously, this animation is awesome... And that english accent is the icing on the cake.

[planetaxolotl]

Why can't I go to a bar and talk about particle physics and quantum mechanics with friends?

[HermioneTurner]

Let me see if I get this straight: there is a field all around that massless particles, such as photons cannot interact with. However, elementary particles, like quarks, fermions, electrons and bosons, can interact with it. Now, as they crash into the Higgs field, they slowly build on mass, making them bigger/heavier and thus slower. Like a cherry you dip into whipped cream; the cream sticks to the cherry and makes it heavier and more voluminous, thus harder to move through the milkshake.
The Higgs boson is a momentary excitation of the field, that creates large waves. It is a particle and a wave at the same time, being so small. It proves that the field exists... And that's all I got. The boson is the splash, it's the reaction of a large particle moving at a certain speed/frequency in the field... Makes sense?

[SuperNumber]

This is an absolutely fantastic simplification of basic particle physics. I love it, thank you TED, for giving humanity this amazing learning tool.

[DumPlayz]

I Could Totally Hang Out With That Red Monster Thing

[MrEel-dckh]

"Now, you see the cherry in my shake."
"Can I have it?"
"No, not yet."
Steve never got the cherry...

[thepieofyourlife]

I'm actually very impressed by the two characters itself. They show that 2 people doesn't need to be the same experts of the field to talk about it, one just needs to listen and be interested about it.

The other guy has literally zero idea about what the other dude was talking about, yet he still was able to engage in a conversation just by asking the right but quite simple questions.

[thelastamerican]

This is a wonderful video. The cartoon characters held my feeble attention span nicely and I understand the Higgs boson better now.

[fencedxin]

The cherry and shake analogy is very helpful! I am writing a paper that involves explaining the Higgs Boson and the Higgs Field, and this is perfect for breaking it down and explaining it to others who may not know even what a boson is. Thank you so much for this beautiful and informative video!

[ShadowKick]

For CONFUSED people :
It's funny how people react to their confusion after such a video. It's normal, it is confusing and that's what science is really like. Science is all about questions, if you stop asking yourself questions then there would be no science. We discovered a lot of things so far, so much that a usual person would hardly come up with a question with no answer. So now we are left asking ourselves questions that might seem very abstract. We question the existence of things like mass, energy, matter, time. These are the basic rules and we have to tackle them. It's like asking why 1+1=2, why not 1+1=3 or 1+1=banana ? Of course it's confusing, but we have to answer this if we want to understand the world around us.

In fact it's good to be left confused, it pushes you toward the answer.

[tanmeh]

*May the Higgs force field be with you* and give you some mass. ;)

[nickhackett]

steve is really cute and thats pretty much the only thing I was paying attention to this whole time

[AJ-Channel]

Am I the only one who thinks these TED videos don't actually explain anything? I'm often more confused after watching them.

[yagyamohan]

The explanation is so well articulated that it makes it easier to comprehend Higgs Boson.Keep up the good work TED!

[MrHolden]

Best part is how he worries cause he wouldnt be able to eat the ice cream

[Lucas-iyve]

I think this guy broke steves mind a few times.

[run]

Fantastic explanation ! Very clear. When you know how to explain something THAT way, you really know what you are talking about, and that tells all of us that we're on the right track to understand better the ultimate reality parts. Good work !

[werewolf_]

To be honest, the profound informations of Higgs Boson delivered through such simple interactions is really an awesome way of learning!! Thanks a lot! You have made education really cool!