Peter Higgs, the eminent British scientist renowned for his groundbreaking hypothesis of the Higgs boson particle, has departed this world at the age of 94.
His profound contributions to the field of physics transcended boundaries, earning him the distinguished Nobel Prize in Physics in 2013. Higgs’ demise occurred in his city, Edinburgh, as confirmed by the local University.
“Peter Higgs was an extraordinary scientist whose creativity and vision broadened our comprehension of the universe” – University of Edinburgh
Brian Cox expressed his condolences on X (previously known as Twitter). Having had the honor to meet Higgs on multiple occasions, Cox fondly remembered him as a humble and delightful individual despite his fame.
“Higgs’ name will be forever etched in the annals of physics through the Higgs Boson.” – Brian Cox
The 1960s marked a revolutionary era in physics as Higgs, along with other scientists, pondered over a concept that could elucidate why the Universe’s fundamental constituents possess mass.
- Electromagnetism
- Weak nuclear forces
- Strong nuclear forces
These three essential forces became the cornerstone of the search for the elusive particle that could unify them into a single theory – the so-called “Holy Grail” of physics.
This quest culminated in 2012 when researchers at the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland made a groundbreaking discovery – the Higgs boson.
In acknowledgment of his pioneering work, Higgs was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2013, which he shared with Belgian physicist Francois Englert.
“It’s a wonderful feeling to be proven right.” – Peter Higgs
Despite being thrust into the limelight, Higgs remained a reserved individual who often felt overwhelmed by the attention his discovery brought about. The head of CERN, Fabiola Gianotti, described him as a unique personality who inspired physicists globally with his humility and profound understanding of physics.
Professor Alan Barr from the University of Oxford commended Higgs’ enormous contributions to our knowledge of the Universe.
“His proposal of a field pervading the entire universe, giving mass to particles from electrons to top quarks, was revolutionary.” – Alan Barr
Higgs was not only an extraordinary scientist but also a true gentleman, known for his humility and respect for others. He was always keen to give credit where it was due and nurtured the next generation of scientists and scholars.
Scotland’s First Minister, Humza Yousaf, paid his respects to Higgs, commemorating him as a visionary whose theory and its subsequent discovery, almost five decades later, revolutionized our understanding of the Universe.
