Renowned Physicist Peter Higgs Passes Away at 94

Physicist Peter Higgs, known for his groundbreaking theory about an undetected particle in the universe, passed away at the age of 94, as announced by the University of Edinburgh on Tuesday.

His theory was proven right when the Higgs boson was discovered in 2012 at the CERN research centre near Geneva. This discovery was considered a major breakthrough in our understanding of the cosmos, marking the most significant advancement in physics in over 30 years. It also opened up new possibilities in physics that were once only seen in science fiction.

The British scientist told Reuters that for him personally, the recent confirmation of something he did 48 years ago was very satisfying. He expressed that it felt good to be proved right in some way.

He mentioned that at the beginning, he had no expectation of still being alive when the confirmation happened.

Edinburgh University announced the passing of Peter Higgs, who held a professorial chair there for many years. He passed away peacefully at home on Monday after a brief illness.

The university Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, described Peter Higgs as a remarkable individual. He praised him as a truly gifted scientist whose vision and imagination have enhanced our understanding of the world around us.

Higgs initially felt he was not good at physics in school and favored math and chemistry instead. However, after being influenced by renowned physicist Paul Dirac, who also went to his school, he decided to focus on theoretical physics.

The discovery of the Higgs boson provided an explanation for how certain fundamental particles acquire their mass. This was made possible by their interaction with the invisible "Higgs field" that exists throughout space.

The “Brout-Englert-Higgs” mechanism, which won Higgs and Belgium’s Francois Englert the Nobel prize in physics in 2013, is the subject of that interaction. Robert Brout, Englert’s collaborator, unfortunately passed away in 2011. It was described as ‘an incredible thing’.

In 1964, Higgs had his first paper on the model turned down by an academic physics journal at CERN, who said it wasn't relevant to physics. However, his revised paper, which came out a few weeks after Englert and Brout's, was the first to actually predict the existence of a new particle.

Higgs shared how he had a lightbulb moment over a weekend when he realized two pieces of information needed to be connected. He said, "I had to go back to my office on Monday and double-check to make sure I hadn't made a mistake about this."

A promising vision emerged to address a missing piece in the “Standard Model” of physics. The challenge lay in proving the existence of a particular particle.

For almost thirty years, scientists at CERN and Fermilab in Chicago conducted experiments simulating the conditions of the "Big Bang." Their goal was to observe the Higgs boson through the collisions of particles.

CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, a huge scientific experiment, finally succeeded in finding the Higgs boson in 2012. This discovery was a big breakthrough in the world of physics.

Both Englert and Higgs, two important scientists, were present at CERN when the discovery was announced. The event was so significant that hundreds of thousands of people around the world watched it live online.

CERN Director General Rolf Heuer expressed, amidst cheers and applause, that we have achieved a significant milestone in our comprehension of nature.

Higgs, visibly moved and with tears in his eyes, shared with his colleagues that he finds it unbelievable that this groundbreaking event has occurred during his lifetime.

The Higgs boson completed the Standard Model, but there is still much to learn about it. Its discovery opened up new avenues for researchers to explore, including the mysteries of the universe that have yet to be solved and intriguing concepts like parallel universes.

Higgs, an atheist, disliked being called “the God particle,” a nickname often given to the boson named after him.

He had clear opinions on the positive and negative aspects of science. He stepped down from a group advocating for nuclear disarmament when they started opposing the use of nuclear energy.

In 1962, Higgs married Jody Williamson, an American linguist and nuclear disarmament campaigner. They had two sons. Williamson passed away in 2008.

Higgs was known for being humble about his accomplishments and avoiding the spotlight. In an interview on the Nobel prize website, he shared how he had prepared to evade media attention on the day the 2013 Nobel announcement was scheduled.

He left his home in Edinburgh, where he was a retired professor at the university, and decided to take a stroll around the harbor. After enjoying the sights, he went for lunch and visited an art exhibition.

On his way back, a neighbor from his old neighborhood stopped him to offer congratulations on his recent award.

“I said: ‘What award?’” he recalled, chuckling.

Reporting by Robert Evans and Tom Miles, additional reporting by Farouq Suleiman; editing by Pravin Char and Mark Heinrich

Editor's P/S:

The passing of physicist Peter Higgs marks a significant loss in the scientific community. His groundbreaking theory on the Higgs boson, later confirmed through its discovery at CERN, revolutionized our understanding of the universe. The Higgs boson's role in explaining the mass of fundamental particles opened up new avenues for exploration in physics, including the possibility of parallel universes.

Higgs's humility and avoidance of the spotlight underscore his dedication to science and its pursuit over personal recognition. His legacy as a visionary scientist will continue to inspire generations to come, reminding us of the transformative power of scientific inquiry and the importance of perseverance in the face of challenges. The discovery of the Higgs boson stands as a testament to the collaborative efforts of scientists worldwide and the enduring pursuit of knowledge that drives scientific progress.