Legendary British scientist Peter Higgs, the man behind the concept of the Higgs boson particle, died at the age of 94. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2013 for his revolutionary study into the significance of the boson in the universe’s cohesion.
Edinburgh University confirmed his death on Monday (April 8), describing him as an incredibly bright scientist whose unique ideas have increased our understanding of the world.
Higgs and other physicists proposed a theory to explain why the universe’s fundamental components possess mass
Prof. Brian Cox paid tribute to Higgs on X (now known as Twitter): “I was fortunate enough to meet him several times, and beyond being a famous physicist – I think to his embarrassment at times– he was always charming and modest. His name will be remembered as long as we do physics in the form of the Higgs Boson.”
In the 1960s, Peter Higgs and other physicists proposed a theory to explain why the universe’s fundamental components possess mass
It prompted the quest for the ultimate particle that could explain three fundamental forces. In 2012, the Large Hadron Collider found it and it named it the Higgs boson.
“From the mind of Professor Higgs came ideas that have had a profound impact on our understanding of the universe, of matter, and of mass,” said Alan Barr, Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford, in reaction to the news.
“He proposed the existence of a field that pervades the entire universe, that mass to particles from electrons to top quarks.”
“He was also a true gentleman, humble and polite, always giving due credit to others, and gently encouraging future generations of scientists and scholars,” he added.
He is survived by two sons, Chris and Jonny, as well as his daughter-in-law, Suzanne, and two grandkids. His wife, Jody, died in 2008.
Higgs was particularly uneasy about the particle being associated entirely with his name, claiming that the recognition ignored the work of others engaged.
Brian Cox, a particle physicist from the University of Manchester’s School of Physics and Astronomy, stated that Prof. Higgs’ name “will be remembered as long as we do physics,” as reported by Sky News.