Why This Universe? 96 - The Making of Particle Fever (Ft. David Kaplan)
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Nov 24, 2025 David E. Kaplan, a theoretical particle physicist and filmmaker from Johns Hopkins University, shares insights from his documentary, Particle Fever. He discusses the electrifying atmosphere leading to the LHC's launch and the debates over supersymmetry versus no new physics. Kaplan dives into the Higgs mass problem and why predicting it was so challenging. He also reveals the chaos of filming at CERN, including a dramatic helium leak, and the nuances of capturing scientists' stories amid groundbreaking discoveries.
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Why He Started Filming The LHC
- David E. Kaplan decided to document the LHC era after late-night conversations at CERN where colleagues expressed anxiety about the machine revealing only the Higgs and nothing else.
- He began the project as an academic-historical effort to record a pivotal moment in particle physics.
Higgs Mass Drove New Physics Thinking
- The Higgs created a deep theoretical tension: it needed a mechanism to be light while quantum effects tended to make it heavy.
- This tension motivated many beyond-standard-model ideas like supersymmetry or WIMP dark matter hypotheses.
A Film Student Turned Physicist
- Kaplan had a prior interest in filmmaking from early college but left it for physics because he wasn't obsessive enough about film craft.
- That background helped him communicate visually and eventually recruit professional filmmakers to make Particle Fever.