Voyage of the Stars.

Chapter 524 The road to electroweak theory (please subscribe)

"But don't you often say that sometimes the right thing is contrary to logic?" Yu Nanfeng said again.

He is also very troubled about the more powerful particle collider. In fact, Yue Yuan mentioned this matter to Liu Miyan before he arrived, and he concluded that it could not be built.

It’s not that the material technology is not strong enough, but it is impossible to do it with the energy system currently controlled by humans, unless we really build a particle collider with a length of 6684.6 astronomical units.

But building such a long collider is much more difficult than a Dyson sphere. It's not something you can build if you want to.

He was afraid that Liu Miyan would get angry and insist on pushing forward these unimaginable projects. After all, judging from the current situation, this seemed to be the only way, so Yu Nanfeng said that the theory might be wrong.

The purpose was to stop Liu Miyan from pursuing such an impossible project, and instead concentrate on finding other research routes to see if there was any way to bypass the so-called stronger particle collider.

"Then it depends on what kind of logic." At this time, Liu Miyan shook his head and said: "Sometimes what we call counter-common sense and counter-logic is actually only for ordinary people. We have derived the theory step by step from the basic theory. , we don’t find it illogical.”

He glanced at Yue Yuan who was looking out of the porthole with his peripheral vision, and continued: "I firmly believe that this theory is correct, and it is also the way to realize it through our efforts. We cannot not just do it just because we think it is impossible. Science is important." Keep trying.”

As he said that, Liu Miyan glanced at Yu Nanfeng again, and saw that he seemed to be hesitant to speak, so he knew that he had not been able to convince him yet.

Yu Nanfeng is a leading figure in engineering physics. If he cannot be convinced, there will be no progress in the particle collider, because Yue Yuan will also listen to his opinions, not his own, who is engaged in particle physics.

Liu Miyan, who was well aware of this, stirred his mouth with his tongue and thought for a moment, then spoke again: "Let's put it this way, our sages were based on the predictions of the Standard Model, and then after the Higgs mechanism was proposed, they adopted the Higgs mechanism. The Gus mechanism cleared up the mass problems of W and Z bosons that troubled the electroweak unification process, and finally completed the electroweak theory.

So at that time we knew that the electromagnetic force and the weak interaction force were essentially the same force. The reason why they manifested themselves in completely different forms was entirely because of the Higgs mechanism.

Scientists at that time used the most powerful collider in mankind to create an energy of 100 GeV, so they successfully simulated the merger of the weak force and the electromagnetic force in the particle collider, confirming the electroweak unified theory. correct.

Similarly, the Standard Model also predicts the unified energy level of the strong nuclear force. This is the greatness of our basic physical theory. We have been moving forward steadily under its guidance. This is a clear and clear path. I believe that Academician Yu also very clear. "

Yu Nanfeng nodded. Although he was not engaged in particle physics, he certainly knew these things.

The key to the unification of the electromagnetic force and the weak interaction force is the Higgs mechanism. When the Higgs mechanism fails, the W and Z bosons cannot gain mass, and then the electromagnetic force and the weak interaction force are expressed in different forms. It becomes exactly the same. At this time, the propagator of the weak interaction force will also become the speed of light, and like the electromagnetic force, it can be transmitted infinitely in the universe.

It can be said that the verification of the electroweak unified theory is a major victory for the Standard Model and also proves the correctness of the Standard Model.

This is irrefutable. As for how the Higgs mechanism fails, and why it is said that the Higgs mechanism fails and the electromagnetic force and the weak force are unified, it must be understood from the cognition of the two forces, the electromagnetic force and the weak force.

Everyone is familiar with electromagnetic force.

It is the force that holds atoms together, the force that surrounds negatively charged electrons around the positively charged nucleus. The electromagnetic force determines the orbital structure of electrons. It is also the force that governs all the laws of chemistry.

The electromagnetic force is very powerful. It is the second strongest force among the four basic forces. Its power can make many things counteract the pull of gravity. For example, a comb with friction can suck up scraps of paper on the table. This is just a slight change for us. It is an electromagnetic manifestation that can be produced with hands, but it is stronger than the gravitational pull exerted by the huge earth on scraps of paper, which shows how powerful it is.

On a scale the size of an atomic nucleus, the electromagnetic force has absolute dominance over other forces.

Regarding electromagnetic force, the most familiar thing to humans is undoubtedly light. When atoms are disturbed, the electrons around the nucleus become irregular, and the electrons emit light and other forms of radiation. Electromagnetic radiation emitted in the form of X-rays, radar, microwaves or light is the purest form of electromagnetic radiation.

Radios, TV screens, pressure, friction, elasticity, tension, resistance. The things we come into contact with in our daily lives are basically different manifestations of electromagnetic force.

Speaking of electromagnetic force, it is very common but also very magical, because it is the only force that humans can see intuitively. Seeing light, hearing sound, smelling smell, tasting taste, and feeling pain are all electromagnetic force. Interaction.

Looking at it this way, humans seem to be born with the superpower to feel electromagnetic force.

Compared with the electromagnetic force, the weak force is not so easy to deal with. Weak force is so short-lived and fleeting that people do not directly experience it in daily life, but only feel its indirect influence. For example, if you carry a piece of uranium with you, you will be harmed by its radiation soon.

People cannot feel the existence of the weak force in the same way as the electromagnetic force, but they can detect it through scientific instruments. When detecting the radioactivity of atomic nuclei, the clicking sound made by the Geiger counter is caused by the weak force.

The huge heat inside the earth is partly produced by the transformation of radioactive elements deep in the earth's core. It is a manifestation of the weak force. Similarly, the heat released from the core of a nuclear power plant can generate enough electricity to light up a city. This also has weak force. force to participate.

So one is a long-range force and the other is a short-range force. How did they change from one force to two forces? The answer is phase change. When the universe undergoes the third phase change, the electroweak force splits into two and becomes the electromagnetic force and the weak force.

So why do they split into two? Why does phase change occur? What is the key factor? The answer is temperature, the Higgs mechanism.

The universe went from the high-heat environment of the Big Bang to the emergence of the four fundamental forces in a very short time, less than a second. In other words, the time span from the Big Bang to the decrease in the background temperature of the universe is very short, so short that it does not match the magnitude of the decrease in background temperature. Therefore, there must be an inflationary process after the Big Bang at the singularity, so that it is consistent with the observed The phenomenon.

This is the origin of the theory of cosmic inflation.

(End of this chapter)