Peter Ware Higgs (born May 29, 1929), FRSE, FRS, until recently held a personal chair in theoretical physics at the University of Edinburgh and is now an emeritus professor. May 29 is the 149th day of the year (150th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Royal Society of Edinburghs Building on the corner of George St. ... The Fellowship of the Royal Society was founded in 1660. ... The meaning of the word professor (Latin: one who claims publicly to be an expert) varies. ... Theoretical physics employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics, as opposed to experimental processes, in an attempt to understand nature. ... The University of Edinburgh (Scottish Gaelic: ), founded in 1582,[4] is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... A professor is a senior teacher and researcher, usually in a college or university. ...

Higgs is best known for his 1960s proposal of broken symmetry in electroweak theory, explaining the origin of mass of elementary particles in general and of the W and Z bosons in particular. This so-called Higgs mechanism predicts the existence of a new particle, the Higgs boson. Although this particle has not turned up in accelerator experiments so far, the Higgs mechanism is generally accepted as an important ingredient in the Standard Model of particle physics. Higgs conceived of the mechanism in 1964 while walking the Cairngorms, and returned to his lab declaring he had his "one big idea". The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... Broken symmetry is a concept used in mathematics and physics when an object breaks either rotational symmetry or translational symmetry. ... In physics, the electroweak theory presents a unified description of two of the four fundamental forces of nature: electromagnetism and the weak nuclear force. ... Unsolved problems in physics: What causes anything to have mass? The U.S. National Prototype Kilogram, which currently serves as the primary standard for measuring mass in the U.S. Mass is the property of a physical object that quantifies the amount of matter and energy it is equivalent to. ... In particle physics, an elementary particle is a particle of which other, larger particles are composed. ... In physics, the W and Z bosons are the elementary particles that mediate the weak nuclear force. ... The Higgs mechanism or Anderson-Higgs mechanism, originally proposed by the British physicist Peter Higgs based on a suggestion by Philip Anderson, is the mechanism that gives mass to all elementary particles in particle physics. ... The Higgs boson is a hypothetical massive scalar elementary particle predicted to exist by the Standard Model of particle physics. ... For the DC Comics Superhero also called Atom Smasher, see Albert Rothstein. ... The Standard Model of Fundamental Particles and Interactions For the Standard Model in Cryptography, see Standard Model (cryptography). ... Thousands of particles explode from the collision point of two relativistic (100 GeV per ion) gold ions in the STAR detector of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... The Cairngorms: Ben Macdhui seen from Carn aMhaim This article is about the Scottish mountain range. ...

Peter Higgs has been awarded a number of prizes in recognition of his work, including the Dirac Medal and Prize for outstanding contributions to theoretical physics from the Institute of Physics, the 1997 High Energy and Particle Physics Prize by the European Physical Society, and the 2004 Wolf Prize in Physics. The Dirac Medal is a rather prestigious award for physics, named after Thomas Bradley didnt you know Paul Dirac. ... The Institute of Physics (IOP) is Britain and Irelands main professional body for physicists. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Past winners of the Wolf Prize in Physics: 1978 Chien-Shiung Wu 1979 George Eugene Uhlenbeck, Giuseppe Occhialini 1980 Michael E. Fisher, Leo P. Kadanoff, Kenneth G. Wilson 1981 Freeman J. Dyson, Gerard t Hooft, Victor F. Weisskopf 1982 Leon M. Lederman, Martin M. Perl 1983/4 Erwin L. Hahn...

External links

• A photograph of Peter Higgs
• Peter Higgs: the man behind the boson - An article in the PhysicsWeb about Peter Higgs
• Higgs v Hawking: a battle of the heavyweights that has shaken the world of theoretical physics - An article on the debate between Peter Higgs and Stephen Hawking about the existence of the Higgs boson
• My Life as a Boson - A Lecture by Peter Higgs available in various formats
• blog of an interview