The Higgs boson particle and Large Hadron Collider, explained by cartoons

• Tweet

Scientists from the Department of Energy's Tevatron collider said Monday that they have come even closer to finding the Higgs particle, just days ahead of expected announcements from the the Large Hadron Collider team in Europe.

Named after Scottish physicist Peter Higgs, whose theoretical work with other scientists predicted the existence of such a particle, the Higgs boson gives mass to all other elementary particles.

In this video, Jorge Cham of PhD Comics visits CERN, the European laboratory that operates the Large Hadron Collider. Cham animates the experience and the words of the scientists he meets into a series of cartoons sketches and graphs.

Oxford University program Oxford Sparks made this cartoon following a team of protons "aboard the Large Hadron Collider."

"I regret to say, some of you won't make it home," a detached woman's voice tells the helmet-wearing young protons over a loudspeaker.

If you're short on time, SciShow's Hank Green explains the Higgs particle in a five-minute video. While not exactly a cartoon, he does use some handy graphics to illustrate.

If you're longer on time, and you find British accents conducive to learning, "rock star" physicist Dr. Brian Cox explains the study of particle physics and the search for the Higgs boson in more detail.