Physicist Peter Higgs, founder of the Higgs boson theory, has died at the age of 94

This sparked the search for the holy grail of physics – a particle that could explain three fundamental forces (electromagnetism, the weak and strong nuclear forces) in a single theory.

In 2012, scientists discovered it using the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland, and named it the Higgs boson.

A year later, Higgs' work was recognized and he received the Nobel Prize, which he shared with François Englert of Belgium.

He was a shy man and was not comfortable with the attention his theory brought him. When the announcement was made, he wiped a tear from his eye, but told reporters: “It's so nice to be right sometimes.”

CERN's president, Fabiola Gianotti, told BBC News: “Peter was a very special person, a very inspiring figure for physicists around the world, a man of rare humility, a great teacher, and someone who explains physics in a very simple and yet simple way.” Way deep.”

She added: “I am very sad, and I will miss him terribly.”

Alan Barr, professor of physics at the University of Oxford, praised the enormous impact that the Higgs has had on our understanding of the universe.

“He proposed the existence of a field that pervades the entire universe, from mass to particles, from electrons to top quarks.”

“He was also a gentleman, humble and gentleman, always giving credit to others and gently encouraging future generations of scholars and scientists,” he added.

Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf praised him as “a visionary whose idea, and its discovery some 48 years later, changed our understanding of the universe”.

Ballabh Ghosh steps inside the world's largest particle accelerator – which discovered the Higgs boson.