- #1
logic smogic
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I attended a colloquium a few days ago concerning the LHC and the search for the Higgs Boson. After some thought, I have the following question.
Among other things, there are two measurable properties of all of the fundamental particles in the Standard Model: mass and charge. It is hypothesized that a particle gets its mass by interacting with the Higgs field (colloquially, by the tendency of local vacuum to 'cling' to it as it moves through space).
But what gives a particle its electric charge?
Is this a meaningful question? Is it by some interaction with some charge field - by interaction with the local EM field? No, for charge generates a local EM field, right? Is my question off the wall, unresearched, or being currently discussed? Is it only meaningful by way of discussing gauge theories? Essentially, what is charge, and why do some particles have it and others don't?
Among other things, there are two measurable properties of all of the fundamental particles in the Standard Model: mass and charge. It is hypothesized that a particle gets its mass by interacting with the Higgs field (colloquially, by the tendency of local vacuum to 'cling' to it as it moves through space).
But what gives a particle its electric charge?
Is this a meaningful question? Is it by some interaction with some charge field - by interaction with the local EM field? No, for charge generates a local EM field, right? Is my question off the wall, unresearched, or being currently discussed? Is it only meaningful by way of discussing gauge theories? Essentially, what is charge, and why do some particles have it and others don't?