THE HIGGS PARTICLE
Just as a start: the most important concept is not the Higgs particle but the Higgs field. By finding and studying the Higgs particle one hopes to find out more about the properties of the Higgs field.
The Higgs field is a field that fills the entire universe and with which we continuously interact and so we "feel" the presence of the Higgs field. Because of this continuous interaction we are heavy and do not fly through space with the speed of light. The Higgs particle is the ripple of the lowest possible energy in the Higgs field.
The best way to picture a field is as a very long but tight rope that at at one end is secured to a wall and that at the other end is held in your hand. If you now move your hand quickly up and down, it will cause a wave to run through the rope. A field is like the rope and a particle is like a wave in the rope. With a rope held in your hand you can make any motion you want and thus make any wave you like. In quantum mechanics you can only move your hand in a definite number of ways and so create only a limited number of particles.
