Editing Brian and the Higgs' Field (section)

==The Higgs' Field Explained==

Although scientists can accurately describe the effects of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity gravity], they are not yet fully sure what causes the phenomenon of gravity to occur or how it works.  It seems that objects are attracted to each other by virtue of their mass, but no full explanation has been found for why this is true.  One popular theory posits the existence of the Higgs Field, a field of particles that stretches invisibly across the entire universe.  The Higgs field as a whole should be indistinguishable from the rest of the universe, but it should be composed of countless [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum quantum] particles called [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higgs_boson Higgs bosons].  [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boson Bosons] are "elementary particles which act as the carriers of the fundamental forces."  For example, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photon photon] is the boson that carries the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_force electromagnetic force], such as light.  If this theory holds true, the Higgs boson, which seems to be another name for the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graviton graviton], is the boson that carries the information that manifests as the phenomenon of gravity across the universe.  

In other words, as an object moves through the Higgs Field, Higgs bosons will begin to cluster around it, giving it mass.  The bosons will transmit this information to their counterparts throughout the field and interacting with other particles, thus causing gravitational attraction between all particles within the Higgs' Field.  In this sense, Higgs bosons can be seen to come in two "types;" the first is that which has "bonded" invisibly with another particle to give it mass and the second is the "free" Higgs boson that makes up the larger part of the Higgs Field.

The Higgs Field operates according to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higgs_mechanism Higgs' Mechanism], which describes [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vector_boson moving particles] in a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalar scalar field] (a field with a specific value associated with each point within it).  This was done in a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_symmetry_breaking spontaneous symmetry breaking] model to explain how the Higgs bosons interact with other particles.  "What this means... is that the potential energy density (of the Higgs Field) looks like the bottom of a wine bottle: a hump in the middle and a circular valley around it."  The potential energy sits at the hump and all of the kinetic energy is at the bottom; a particle moving through the Higgs Field effectively "rolls down the hill."  Like a ball at the top of a hill, though, non-interaction with the Higgs' Field is inherently unstable; all particles will eventually expell their excess energy and "roll down the hill."  An interesting note is that there's no energy cost to move around the "valley" - all points on it are, energetically speaking, equal.

One of the principles of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics quantum mechanics], however, and one of the conditions under which gravity must ultimately work, is that quantum particles are seemingly capable of transmitting information faster than the speed of light.  For example, quantum particles (including Higgs bosons) can come in pairs.  A change in one is matched by an instantaneous change in the other, no matter the distance between them.  That said, though, even though the Higgs Field is spread throughout the universe, the Higgs boson would be very weak compared to that of other bosons.  A huge concentration of particles (and their attendant Higgs boson-bestowed masses) is necessary to cause gravity to operate.  This explains, among other things, why electromagnetic fields can be used to lift objects off of the ground, in defiance of the pull of earth's gravity.