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The Higgs Mechanism Explained | Space Time | PBS Digital Studios

PBS Space Time · 2.7M views · 2015-12-16 · 9:32

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Overview

PBS Space Time explains the Higgs field and how the Higgs mechanism gives particles mass within quantum field theory. It is a ten-minute overview for a lay audience.

On Hacker News

Recommended as a clear explanation of how electrons gain mass, and the channel itself gets binge-watch praise.

Recommended by 3 HN people across 3 months · HN mentions 2018–2022

Topics

Quantum physics
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higgs fieldquantum field theoryparticle physicsmasspbs space time

What people said

Tomte · 2022-03 · Recommendation

> There are a few bad explanations about the Higgs boson floating around. I hate all of them. What's your opinion on the PBS spacetime explanation? [VIDEO] I've discovered the channel only recently, and have been binge-watching since.

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alsonote · 2022-01 · Recommendation

Electrons' mass is a little strange, in my (limited) understanding. The Standard Model predicts that electrons should be massless, but they gain mass (or maybe easier to say, "massiness") through interactions with the Higgs field. This effectively creates a constant "drag" on electrons, giving them a kind of inertia or "mass". I think this video does a good job explaining it, much better than I could: [VIDEO]

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doctoboggan · 2018-02 · Recommendation

The YouTube channel PBS SpaceTime gives an excellent overview of these same ideas. The presenter is great at making things as simple as possible, but not simpler. [LINK] [LINK] [VIDEO]

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Sources

Video by PBS Space Time, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

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