Fields of Color: The theory that escaped Einstein by Brooks Rodney A

Author:Brooks, Rodney A. [Brooks, Rodney A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2010-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

A FINAL FIX

At this point, you must be hoping that the long saga is over. Enough already with T, V and A, parity, Higgs mechanisms, and fields with mixed up names. But there was one remaining hurdle.

While the theory of electro-weak interaction… was a great step forward, the research community at first found it difficult to accept. When they tried to use the theory for calculating in more detail the properties of the new W and Z particles (and many other physical quantities) it gave unreasonable results… Many researchers were pessimistic about the possibilities of going further with such a theory. - (Nobel press release, 1999)

The solution to this problem was found in 1971 by two Dutch physicists, Martinus Veltman (b. 1931) and Gerardus ‘t Hooft (b. 1946). Of course the mathematics goes way beyond our scope. Suffice it to say that they found a way to modify the equations so that meaningful calculations could be made. When their calculations were experimentally confirmed in 1995, Veltman and ‘t Hooft were awarded the 1999 Nobel Prize in physics:

The theory of the electro-weak force predicted the existence of the new W and Z particles right from the start. But it was only through 't Hooft's and Veltman's work that more precise prediction of physical quantities involving properties of W and Z could start. Large quantities of W and Z have recently been produced under controlled conditions at the LEP accelerator at CERN. Comparisons between measurements and calculations have all the time showed great agreement, thus supporting the theory's predictions. – (Nobel press release, 1999)

On this happy note we end the century-long saga that began in February 1896 when a French physicist couldn’t wait for a sunny day.

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