Colloquia

New developments in particle physics offer a new and radically simple conception of the universe. Fundamental particles called quarks and leptons make up everyday matter, and two new laws of nature rule their interactions. Until July 4, 2012, our neat story was missing one piece, a particle called the Higgs boson. Without it, there would be no atoms, no chemistry, no liquids or solids, and no basis for life. Why did thousands of physicists devote decades to the hunt, and how does the “discovery of the century” change the way we see the world?