Your Mass is NOT From the Higgs Boson

TL;DR

Mass comes from the energy fluctuations in the gluon field, with only a small portion attributed to the interaction with the Higgs field.

Transcript

Twenty-one grams. That is the mass of all of the electrons in your body if, like me, you weigh about 70 kilograms. Now all of the mass comes from the Higgs mechanism, which means that as your electrons are traveling through space time, they interact with the Higgs field and it is that that gives them their mass. It slows them down and stops them fr... Read More

Key Insights

• 💆 Quarks, not electrons, are the primary source of mass in our bodies and the world around us.
• ❓ Quantum chromodynamics explains the interactions and behaviors of quarks and gluons.
• 🤩 Flux tubes created by suppressing gluon fluctuations play a key role in binding quarks together and forming particles.

Questions & Answers

Q: What gives electrons and other particles their mass?

The mass of electrons and other particles comes from interactions with the Higgs field, which slows them down and prevents them from traveling at the speed of light.

Q: What are quarks and how do they interact with each other?

Quarks are constituent particles of neutrons and protons, and they interact with each other through gluons in quantum chromodynamics.

Q: Can quarks exist individually or be separated from each other?

Quarks are always combined and cannot be observed individually because attempts to pull one out create a pair of quark and anti-quark due to the high energy involved.

Q: How does energy contribute to the mass of a proton?

Most of the mass of a proton comes from energy fluctuations in the gluon field and the interaction with quarks, as described by Einstein's equation E=mc^2.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Mass in our bodies and the world around us comes from the interactions of quarks and gluons, not solely from the Higgs mechanism.

• Quarks, the constituent particles of neutrons and protons, interact with each other through gluons in a theory called quantum chromodynamics.

• Quarks bind together through a flux tube created by suppressing gluon fluctuations, forming different particles such as mesons and protons.