Matter, Fundamental Particles and the Central Role of Special Relativity in Our Universe

ThisFundamental particles chapter shows that, amazingly, the theory of special relativity plays a central role in all scales of our Universe and provides a direct explanation for the theorized Higgs field. According to this theory, particle masses increase dramatically with particle speed with respect to an inertial observer. Thus, for a sufficiently large speed, even the lightest neutrinoNeutrino becomes more massive than even hadronsHadrons, thus bridging the huge gap (~ 1011) between stagnant neutrino massesNeutrino mass and quark masses, which can be even bigger than hadron (proton, neutron) masses. Such a dramatic acceleration of neutrinos can easily take place due to the presence of electronsElectron or positronsPositron. This super-relativistic neutrinos can either combine and form bound states (hadrons, so-called quarks) or continue their lonely journey as highly energetic cosmic raysCosmic rays.