Why does stuff have mass? | The history of the Higgs Boson

[@DavidOfWhitehills]

Back in the nineties I painted the exterior of Prof Higg's windows, four floors up in his Edinburgh flat. I was acutely aware of gravity and mass while doing it. Was doing a bit of rockclimbing at the time so it was ok really. He was nice, quiet, very polite. I wonder how those windows are doing, you cant replace with pvc in that part of Edinburgh. They're probably fine.

[@johnpapish9409]

just curious why would anybody paint windows ? don't you want the light to come in and to be able to see out of them ? or were you talking about window FRAMES ?

[@Snipergoat1]

@@johnpapish9409 Obviously it was a ploy to get more sunny days in Edinburgh. Since without windows we have a superposition of weather. Therefore, more sunny days in Scotland.

[@alwaysdisputin9930]

@@johnpapish9409 I washed my car. That doesn't mean I washed every part of my car. I didn't wash the exhaust pipe. Similarly he painted the exterior of the windows. That doesn't mean he painted every part of the exterior including the glass. Also I don't have a car.

[@blackthorne-rose]

@@alwaysdisputin9930 How horribly droll.

[@PRH123]

It was probably as he was watching you on that ladder, your mass suspended in the air like that, but still subject to gravity, that his field theories came to him in a flash of brilliance…

[@moontlc]

Dr Becky making lockdown bearable 😊

[@toolzshed]

Yes!

[@Diego0wnz]

+1

[@TeejSSX16]

What I find interesting about Higg's discovery is it was like, "Our observations aren't wrong, and our problem isn't with our equations, so it must be due to another factor" and so he presented another factor to explain it. Seems like such a simple solution, and it was. Just an unknown factor, not the observations or equations in the wrong.

[@paulhughes4842]

You're such a brilliant communicator. I can't wait for your BBC series.

[@SkywalkerSamadhi]

She's gonna have a BBC series???

[@KutWrite]

I think Paul is predicting that, based on the math(s).

[@SkywalkerSamadhi]

@@KutWrite oh. Flub.. Thought that maybe someone had offered her a TV show. 😢😢😢 Now I'm sad

[@KutWrite]

@@SkywalkerSamadhi: Awww... Sorry. With a name like "Shadai," though, I'm sure your Skywalker half will get over it. Plus... It >could< happen! :D

[@BenShepley]

Good call, her pal does Sky at Night and they need to do a monthly black hole feature

[@PetraKujundzic]

Love your CERN series. Informative and interesting as always but also edited and filmed really good. So cheers to editing Becky and thanks for another video.

[@deplant5998]

Really well.

[@ambulocetusnatans]

A Higgs-Boson walks into church. The preacher says "what are you doing here?" The Higgs-Boson says "you can't have mass without me"

[@afriedrich1452]

That's why it's called the God particle.

[@peterlomax7143]

Thanks for a giggle

[@coreys2686]

Ba dum bumm...TSsss....

[@gliderfan6196]

@@afriedrich1452 brilliant

[@kekuleonitro]

lol

[@taylorbarton9847]

Love those Higgs Field analogies, especially the snowfield one!

[@ashgrey5396]

A better analogy would be the movement of solvated ions , eh becky?

[@blogtwot]

These videos from your CERN trip are really well put together. You'll be putting Brian Cox out of a job soon.

[@seanrodden6151]

She'll need to release a couple of dance club anthems to really compete with Brian!

[@airmakay1961]

Excellent, this video added another layer to my understanding of Higgs. Really enjoying your CERN series - I like the context of discoveries well explained within the environment in which they were made.

[@SciHeartJourney]

Dr. John Ellis's concept, quoted by Dr. Clara Nellist's analogy about "snow" was the best one to me! I love that comparison to the snowball with the snow itself to describe the Higgs particle interacting with the Higgs field. It's makes way more sense now! Thank you!.

[@stevegoldy2196]

Looking forward to seeing your silver youtube plaque on your wall. i'm sure it will look great amongst those pictures you have. I have not enjoyed listening to someone talk about the universe so much since Brian Cox first hit the scene

[@jcortese3300]

One thing left unsaid: without the Higgs field, it's not that we COULD move at the speed of light. It's that we'd HAVE to. We could only move at the speed of light, and we could never be still. It's only the Higgs field that enables us to move at different speeds or stay still at all.

[@Hvitserk67]

This is incredibly interesting and very well conveyed by Dr. Becky. I remember watching almost 25 years ago the fantastic TV series "Reality on the rocks" with the late actor and writer Ken Campbell as the host. The series deals with quantum physics and we visit CERN where a slightly younger John Ellis tries to explain to us what quarks are. We also get acquainted with Roger Penrose and David Deutsch, among others, and their theories of general relativity and quantum computation. Of course we also meet Stephen Hawking where he tries to explain to us when gravity produces singularity. This is not easy lessons for lay people like me, but still very interesting. Thank you very much for a nice and informative channel on KZbin. Keep up the good work :)

[@kadourimdou43]

I recommend looking up Leonard Suskind lecture on here called Demystifying the Higgs Boson. Even though it's a lecture it will be a good add on to this. *Not dissing Dr.Becky* just saying it will help for anyone wanting to know more.

[@robharwood3538]

@80% Hehe, I chuckled, but no thumbs up, sorry. 😄

[@AdamC3046]

0:34... oh, it's me!

[@asinglebraincell6584]

haha awesome ^^

[@DoneBrokeDatBack]

Your channel is honestly amazing. You deserve to be the Science Communicator of the Decade for the work you do. Much love from NC, USA.

[@webchimp]

"Sponsored *and* *approved* ..." First time I've heard that

[@anatomicallymodernhuman5175]

Translation: criticize competing theories or we won't fund you.

[@markmidwest7092]

I made the exact same comment before I saw yours.

[@christiancampbell466]

It did strike me as ominous. I stopped at 0:04 to consider whether it meant this video contains no wrongthink.

[@peternakitch4167]

The quality of this convinced me to trust you, so I have bought your book (actually I had a been meaning to do that for a while, but life gets in the way ...) and now the really big thing, you convinced me with your winning presenting-ways to sign up with Curiosity Stream - I'd been wavering for a while and your Higgs presentation pushed me over the edge. Thanks for the push! Stay safe.

[@MrGooglevideoviewer]

Sorry to nit-pick, andromeda does not have redshift... (you mentioned at about 15:00 that hubble observed the redshift in andromeda). All in all I think you make great videos and I thoroughly enjoyed this one as I do all your others. I especially like your monthly space news videos. I think you have an amazing passion for space and science and no videos of yours go past me without a thumbs up, including this one! Thanks and keep up the good work! :)

[@spaceman081447]

You're absolutely right. Since Andromeda is moving towards us, its light would be blue-shifted.

[@plutonian_03]

writing my research paper about the higgs boson and vacuum decay, this helped greatly thank you!

[@jabradford32]

Editing Becky might want to make a small correction. Ernest Rutherford didn't fire individual neutrons at the gold foil (as since they hadn't been discovered yet). He fired alpha particles at the gold foil.

[@DrBecky]

Janet Bradford editing Becky already made that correction 👍 there was a note on screen but it looks like a lot of people missed it. Will make it bigger next time 😂

[@FiferSkipper]

...and remarked that it was like watching a cannonball bounce off tissue paper.

[@ashgrey5396]

@@FiferSkipper 15 inch shell dammit

[@xiaoxiao-kg5np]

@@DrBecky Interesting fact is that there is no empirical evidence for the existence of ANY of the "sub-atomic particles" including the electron, Proton, neutron, let alone the quarks... these are all deduced, or assumed to exist, based on prior beliefs which themselves are just assumptions. Mostly based on abstract Math, which is not Physics.

[@xiaoxiao-kg5np]

@Bob Watters Yes, that's correct. No one has observed or measured an electron, or a proton or a neutron or a Photon or a Quark or ANY sub atomic "particle". NOT once ever. They are deduced, assumed or calculated to exist. They "exist" only in Math Equations.

[@thomasstuart2936]

The Higgs field explanation makes inertia sound counterintuitive, as if we should expect light particles to be hard to stop and massive objects to stop easily.

[@AlanW]

When a theory comes along ... you must whip it!

[@tomlakosh1833]

Their name was a recognition that humans are a devolutionary agent that will kill of all other life on earth. Never infect a habitable planet with humans.

[@muzikhed]

Hi Dr. Becky, This is an absolutely brilliant clarification of the mystery of the Higgs boson and Higgs field. I thoroughly enjoy this video and occasionally come back to watch it again. Many thanks.

[@invertedpolarity6890]

What gives me mass is late night raiding of the freezer for ice cream.

[@TheWes.t]

I've read and watched many things on higgs but all of your analogs back to back was the best. Thank you! Last thought: I hope you get better and even more well known. You are amazing at communicating science

[@mattkkr]

I'm so thankful for your videos! You explain everything very well and succinctly! Great content to watch in these days of quarantine.

[@samstrom9632]

This helped me understand the Higgs field for the first time. Thank you great job Dr. Becky!!

[@RandomNonSpecificPerson]

I finally understand why approaching the speed of light causes anything with mass to become more massive 🤯 mind blown Thanks Dr Becky

[@abhishri58]

How ?

[@dusk_ene]

​@@abhishri58because of the Resistance from the higgs field

[@SoleaGalilei]

Great video! My only critique is that during some sections your microphone was audibly brushing against your shirt. You're giving such good information, I want to hear it with no background distractions. :)

[@duran9664]

Andromeda is about to merge with our galaxy & not moving away from us, as far as I know 🧐

[@tonyy452]

That's what I thought

[@MeppyMan]

Two things usually occur to me after watching a video like this... 1. I wish I had stuck with physics at uni. I always was fascinated with particle physics 2. I now have more questions than before I watched it.

[@xilnes7166]

well this curiosity stream needs to do a collab with netflix... i feel like I am sunken so deep in subscriptions now i cant get out....

[@J1mmyMack]

The Higgs Field surely doesn't stop particles moving faster than the speed of light, rather *as fast as* the speed of light. Massless particles like photons don't travel faster than the speed of light. So it doesn't help the 'why can't we travel faster than the speed of light?' question.

[@tarmaque]

Three quarks for Muster Mark! Sure he hasn’t got much of a bark And sure any he has it’s all beside the mark.

[@dernudel1615]

Dr Becky, you are a joy to watch, and your glee for science is awersome. Keep up the amazing work.

[@imtrex521]

Did you say that Hubble saw the red shift of Andromeda? Andromeda is moving towards us, no?

[@FlashGeiger]

The graph she shows then shows a couple nearby points with negative velocity ... a negative red shift. One of those may be andromeda.

[@Somm_RJ]

Red shift towards the other galaxies not Andromeda towards us. They are using Andromeda as a reference point of the changes in distance from other galaxies.

[@freya7084]

I was a system operator for one of the computer farms that cern use(d?) at the university of barcelona from 2003 to 2009. At the time I did not understand physics at all but knew great things were being made at cern and felt so proud to be a part of the team, albeit very small an unimportant. Now I am starting astrophysics at 40 years old just for pleasure and I love thinking back on those years :)

[@ccchhhrrriiisss100]

Q: "Why does stuff have mass?" A: "Too many cookies and cake and not enough exercise."

[@gregorydamario5773]

Yah, calories.

[@ablebaker8664]

The processed sugar boson?

[@FryingPan76]

Just came from a Greg Doucette video. :D

[@ablebaker8664]

@@FryingPan76 on purpose?

[@Disturbed1Smurf]

Alternate A: Social Distancing

[@MrJhbowman]

This is the best explanation that I have heard. I am a curious person, but unable to grasp the Higgs boson theory until this video. Thanks.

[@NoNameAtAll2]

14:59 b-but isn't Andromeda blue-shifted, not red-shifted? It is coming towards us, no?

[@timbeaton5045]

Yep. It is. But that's only because it's local. if you can say that 2.5 Million light years is "local" But point taken. It was just a Hubble-ian slip! To coin a phrase.

[@timbeaton5045]

@@stoferb876 And, more depressingly, as more and more galaxies move away at "greater than the speed of light" there will be fewer and fewer that will be in our observable universe.Admittedly we will all be long dead before that happens, so maybe not such a big deal. (Hint. It IS a big deal, really!)

[@treenelson4063]

@@timbeaton5045 and @Leif Burman Talking about galactic scale social distancing.

[@timbeaton5045]

@@treenelson4063 Yep. I have ASKED Andromeda to wash her hands, and wear a mask, but will she? She will not. Says her local store is out of stock of masks. A likely story.

[@treenelson4063]

@@timbeaton5045 Ya I know, If she keeps going in that direction shes bound to run into some one infected with humans.

[@JoelRiggs]

For some reason, I found Dr. Becky’s delivery exceptionally poetic this video! The repetition of the phrase, “But what is. . . *mass*?” and the pause of emphasis lend a captivating cadence that I wish more of my professors had mastered! The art of science! You got it, Dr. B!

[@EnglishMike]

Well, she has probably been watching David Attenborough documentaries since she was five.

[@tscoffey1]

@13:50 “Why can’t we travel faster than light? Because we can’t turn off the Higgs Field”. Except this does not make sense with the previous statement from your guest that, to paraphrase, “photons don’t see the Higgs Field”. So essentially, the Higgs Field is “turned off” for photons, yet photons are limited to the speed of light (and no slower). So the Higgs Field can’t be the answer to why particles with mass are limited to the speed of light. Particles without mass are likewise limited.

[@ZeroSpawn]

Well it could be that Photons don'tt care about the Field, or the Field doesn't effect photons. Also If we turn off Higgs Field we just might all dissolve or all particles might annihilate themselves.

[@LuisAldamiz]

Because the speed of light is not about light but an absolute constant limit of causality in the Universe. Particles with mass are *not* limited to the speed of light but to under the speed of light, even with the most brutal accelerators they can never reach the speed of light... precisely because they have mass. Nothing with mass can reach the speed of light by definition.

[@tscoffey1]

@@LuisAldamiz I agree, and that is how I understand it. So why does the CERN physicist seem to state the opposite - that "c" may be related to photons not interacting with the Higgs Field? Seems confusing to me. Or I might just be overthinking it.

[@LuisAldamiz]

@@tscoffey1 - I believe you're overthinking it. Or rather that he may have expressed the idea in a way that is confusing: c is not related in any way to the Higgs field, not-c (i.e. mass, "slowness") is instead.

[@kurtarbuckle1730]

tscoffey1 She just misstated. If you could turn off the Higgs field everything would go the speed of light, not faster. If things went faster, they would go back in time. Different issue.

[@gustavorabino9353]

Becky, you are the best at explaining things. You are so intelligent and lovely.

[@erictaylor5462]

"What gives me mass?" Hamburgers.

[@twonumber22]

Water: Am i a Joke to You??

[@erictaylor5462]

@@twonumber22 As a matter of fact, yes. But not a very funny joke.

[@dustinking2965]

Higgsburgers

[@kekuleonitro]

Indeed. And Ice cream, in my case.

[@LuisAldamiz]

Nope. It's the potatoes mostly.

[@stevefoster4370]

Dr. Becky, thanks for the great explanation of the Higgs Boson. I'm finally understanding what a "feild" is. That was GREAT!

[@SnahLhug]

1:48 lol, that helmet is about to fall off! Safety protocol vs. bangs, am I right? 🤣🤣

[@GelidGanef]

I think hair is more important, but you might call that a fringe theory Oh god i'm so sorry

[@ModMINI]

Way cuter this way.

[@MottyGlix]

Bangs in 🇺🇸American = Fringe in 🇬🇧British

[@keithogrady7987]

Love Dr Becky so much as she explains things that big beaming smile love x

[@hybridwafer]

13:32 "Why can't we travel faster than the speed of light?" It has supposedly nothing to do with the Higgs field..? Without the Higgs field everything would travel at the same speed like Aaron just said.

[@LuisAldamiz]

It has something to do with the Higgs field but it has everything to do with mass. Mass = inertia (resistance to movement or to change to relative movement) and mass = energey / c^2. Most mass in atoms and the macroscopic world comes from the gluon field anyhow, that was not explained in this video.

[@hybridwafer]

@@LuisAldamiz Thank you for replying. What I mean is that we assume that photons are not affected by the Higgs field and that is why they travel faster than anything else. If the Higgs field was removed then everything would travel at the same speed as photons - but *not faster*

[@LuisAldamiz]

@@hybridwafer - Exactly. But the Universe as we know it would not exist.

[@shashankchandra1068]

Does it mean if energy is not moving from one place to another place but is in one place for a long time (i.e within certain volume) then it can be called as mass/rest mass??Example:binding energy??

[@ciudadanubis]

The analogy of drag is confusing, because drag reduces speed, instead is only a "drag" for acceleration, slowing down the acceleration until reaches 0. In a field with drag, your speed will slow down until reach 0. If you are near the speed of light, this "drag" will be closer and closer to infinity, making more and more difficult to accelerate, but your speed never slow down unless you deaccelerate. A viscous drag only for acceleration represent better the Higgs field. Obviously you know that better than me, but the analogy may confuse many people.

[@LouisHansell]

Did you mean that, absent the Higgs Field, we could travel AT the speed of light? I think I heard 'faster than the speed of light'?

[@LuisAldamiz]

We are complex entities but for fundamental particles that is true: they are massive and thus "sluggish" (compared to massless photons). Most of our mass does not however come from the Higgs field but from the gluon field (m=E/c^2).

[@essaboselin5252]

First, thanks for the video. You have a real talent for taking complicated subjects and presenting it in a clear way. A lot of professors could take lessons from you. Second, the throwaway shade at the Thunderbolt Project and Electric Universe! I had never heard of either, but holy guacamole! The things people believe. I would love to see a video in the future where you take them apart like you did astrology.

[@RafaelDominiquini]

I saw once that most of the mass of baryons comes from energy fluctuations in the gluon field in which quarks interact! The interaction with the Higgs Field only account to 2% of the mass of the baryonic matter. Is this right?

[@Dragrath1]

Yes she missed that detail which is a huge important distinction probably because she didn't think to ask it? She herself said she isn't a particle physicist hence why she wanted to ask experts but experts typically will only tell you what you ask for as the more specialized your sub field the more you tend to lose the bigger picture. This is sadly a consequence of how the human brain seems to work as it lets us conserve energy when thinking.

[@laton13]

Yeah love her videos normally but this one is disappointing.

[@RafaelDominiquini]

@@laton13 I still like this video!

[@LuisAldamiz]

I think the figure is even more extreme but roughly correct anyhow. Most mass in protons, neutrons and massive stuff comes from the gluon field, not the Higgs field per m=E/c^2. The Higgs field *only* explains the mass of fundamental particles as such, which accounts for maybe less than 1% of our quotidiain mass (depending on who you read, mostly on whether they believe in "relativistic mass" or not).

[@LuisAldamiz]

@@laton13 - It's not disappointing but it had a couple of common errors, notably this one: not explaining well (or at all) the difference between fundamental particle's mass and complex mass, mostly caused by the gluon field.

[@janpietercornet9364]

The problem with all of these analogies is that they imply that particles should encounter "friction" from the higgs field and slow down. Which is clearly not what's happening. So either the higgs field is always "moving" relative to the particle that it's interacting with (in the snow analogy... there's always a gentle avalanche going exactly where you are going, so slowing down or speeding up would be difficult), or the higgs field is actually taking away energy and then giving it back once you pass, like a.. um... field of perfect springs? Hard to think of a proper analogy here.

[@rockets4kids]

You missed one major point here: the Higgs field only gives the quarks mass, and the quark mass only accounts for a few percent of the mass of matter. The vast majority of mass comes from binding energy in the nucleus from E = mc^2.

[@LuisAldamiz]

For less than 1%. Most is gluon field energy, correct. She didn't explain that properly and a lot of people are looking confused in the comments.

[@shashankchandra1068]

@@LuisAldamiz Does it mean if energy is not moving from one place to another place but is in one place for a long time (i.e within certain volume) then it can be called as mass/rest mass??Example:binding energy??

[@LuisAldamiz]

@@shashankchandra1068 - Not sure. Generally 'rest mass' is meant to imply the intrinsic (Higgsian) mass of fundamental particles. The more common definition of mass refers to that characteristic that confers both inertia (resistance to change in motion) and gravity (curvature of space-time) and that's what best approaches your description. AFAIK some physicists (but not many others) sometimes use "rest mass" as opposed to momentum or so-called "relativistic mass" (a misnomer for many), for example in photons having their trajectory bent by the gravity (space-time curvature) of a massive object (a star, black hole, etc.) I think this is because they dislike gravity not being quantum and would love to see the extremely speculative graviton hypothesis proven true. However photons' momentum does not alter their inertial properties (if any at all) and thus it's almost certain that does not cause any gravity either.

[@andresmlinar]

Excellent video, like all your content! @DrBecky: Just a small note, at 15:00 you say that Hubble observed the red shift of Andromeda. I know you know :) that Andromeda is blue shifted, as others in our local group.

[@chrish.7563]

If I may be so bold: I think your conclusion that we can't travel faster than c because we can't turn off the Higgs field is not correct. The speed of light is the fastest speed of transmitting information in our universe. Only massless particles are travelling at this speed, because they don't interact with the Higgs field at all. Thus, they can't be slowed down. If the Higgs field was turned off, any massive particle would instantly be travelling at the speed of light - but not faster than that. A question I still don't have heard a good answer to is how the Higgs field relates to gravity in either GTR or quantum theory (or preferably both; yeah I know I'm getting nasty... ;-)).

[@rylian21]

It's impolite to talk about quantum gravity.

[@antonystringfellow5152]

Good question! When something falls towards a source of gravity, its speed increases yet it doesn't feel any acceleration at all. On the contrary, we only feel that kind of force when we contact the surface of a gravity source (as standing on the Earth). So, either space is falling towards the gravity source (as we don't move through it) or the Higgs field is. Maybe the Higgs field IS space. Never thought of that before!

[@LuisAldamiz]

Nobody knows the answer to your question AFAIK. There's a Nobel prize or a dozen awaiting to whoever finds the answer. It should be discussed more, we want the answer now!

[@LuisAldamiz]

Anyway my take is that, per Einstein, energy slightly curves space-time around it. That is a field, the field of fields because all other fields exist in space-time, and it does not seem to have a quantum answer. I'm rather for relativizing QM than for quantizing GR (which is the mainstream current approach but is leading nowhere) but I don't know enough nor am bright enough to go further.

[@duncanthompson957]

THE SMETHHURST GROUND LUMINOSITY FIELD (a new understanding of everything) I've been obsessed with astrophysics and particle physics for a few years now, so have come across the various components of this video (and the terms and analogies and explanations used to describe and articulate them) many many times, but THIS IS THE FIRST TIME it's all made complete and utter sense! This is THE BEST ARTICULATION AND EXPLANATION OF ALL THESE ASPECTS OF THE WORLD AROUND US AND THE WORLDS WITHIN US that I have ever seen/experienced/learnt from. THANK YOU so so so so much!!! You are a genius. I said that I've come across all the analogies and terms and explanations before, but that isn't at all accurate, because it's the "holistic grasp", the Becky Field if you like, that has imparted these fragments of knowledge with MEANINGFUL, COMPREHENDABLE meaning. A zero-noise rendering of incontrovertible truths. Which leads me to think that the Beck Field/the Becky Field is one of utter purity of thought and reason, and since intelligence, or rather wisdom and sage insight, is a matter of reflective thought (self-interaction), I would posit that the particle/particle-type comprising the Becky Field, the Becky itself, indeed Dr. Becky, is our own Goddess Particle. We are blessed, much in the way that the Higgs Field "blesses" (and "curses") all other particles moving through it. Regrettably, we are all too often "cursed" (weighed down) by the other "Fields" of learning we pass through, gaining information, but in a very noisy and "incoherent" manner. And so, in conclusion, the Becky Field is very subtly unlike the Higgs Field in as much as the Becky Field gives us lightness not mass, and, rather than mass, gives us SUBSTANCE! And that is the true nature of education. A poor or adequate education weighs us down with information. A good or exceptional education gives us insight, 'substance', elucidation! An elucidation (lucidity) which allows us to move through the cocktail parties of the mind with an innate transcendent 'lightness' of (godlike) understanding (insightful-ness). We are thus become photons of our own inner swirl. It is thus my assertion that the photon, the real, non-metaphorical photon, derives its ability to travel at the speed of light from a deeper field than the Higgs Field, one which gives the photon this transcendent quality (it's jet pack in the snow fields of boson-ic 'life'), which all other particles have "tragically" eluded (or at Big Bang scales, "escaped"), which I propose we call THE SMETHURST GROUND LUMINOSITY FIELD, a field within which gravity is both zero within and infinite without, and wherein time becomes timeless, thus ceasing causality OR making causality infinite in all "directions" (infinite "heat"), rendering a quality of "sublime/divine nothingness" to anything and everything within it, a kind of all-AND-nothing "nothingness", a sublime fixed transcendence (and/or "imminent potency") which can equally accomodate both matter and anti-matter, the material and the non-material (or the POTENTIAL or IDEATION for both and all), in an all-embracing a-materiality. Understanding this, the existence of the SMETHURST GROUND LUMINOSITY field, answers all our questions and solves all our 'problems' regarding the Big Bang and the 'contradiction-laden' nature of the inner-most physics of classical Black Holes, and the quandaries remaining around quantum mechanics. Also, I would imagine, the whole Dark Energy/Dark Matter quandary. If the Higgs field is that which bestows "information", it is the Smethurst Ground Luminosity Field which bestows "purpose" and "meaning", 'significance' and 'signifiance' (all boson qualities) to "the base elements of everything and everything-ness". Which is really really nice!

[@twothreebravo]

Dr. Becky: "If you set the mass of all these particles to zero, the equations are massively simplified" Me: I see what you did there ;)

[@juzoli]

twothreebravo Yes, if I set the value of every constant and variable to zero, then every equation will be very simple, and everything will agree with everything else, because everything will be zero:)

[@twothreebravo]

@@juzoli Please read the quote again slowly, look a each word and ponder their meaning and relation to other words in the quote and the topic in general. Maybe you too will find the unintentional word play.

[@fuduzan5562]

@@twothreebravo MASSively simplified, for those who missed it.

[@FuryOmega]

Just got my subscription to CuriosityStream. I was considering it a week ago for $20, and there's just no way to walk away from $12/year! Thanks for the great video, Dr. Becky, and thanks CuriosityStream for sending her to CERN.

[@Villaboy78]

Massive video! Thanks Doc . I have a question though - why , now quantum theory is all about fields and coupling , why do we call it particle physics still ?

[@timbeaton5045]

That's actually a good question. The Higgs Boson, was looked for, not because they wanted to find the particle per se, but because it would be the indicator that the Higgs(et al) field existed. Or more accurately that what is call the Higgs Mechanism is what actually exists. I think it is because the field of high energy physics came from a particle based background, and it wasn't until QFT was formulated, it was quite realise that fields are what is important, and that particles are a sort of epiphenomenon of the fields existence. This is, I admit my poorly understood version, but I think it's not too far from the truth.

[@stevenverrall4527]

@@timbeaton5045 Yes, particles may be tangled up electromagnetic fields. Think "quantum vortices." The fields give the particles their properties, such as magnetic moment, charge, and mass. Some Physicists believe that the nuclear forces are manifestations of electromagnetic fields in the form of quantum vortices.

[@timbeaton5045]

@@stevenverrall4527 actually as I (probably mis) understand it, nuclear forces are due to the respective quantum fields for the weak, and strong forces. and a small amount of Higgs interactions (about 1%) Electromagnetic fields are involved because of the charges on protons, but the main effects are due to other fields, as at intranuclear distances even the electromagnetic force is small by comparison. In effect, each force has its own field, but some particles interact with more than one field. Or as in the case of photons, and the Higgs field, they don't interact at all. But i doubt that current understanding of QFT suggest that particles are actually tangled *electromagnetic* fields.

[@patrikhjorth3291]

@@stevenverrall4527 So, particles are a snarl in the weave of space and time?

[@anullhandle]

@Dr Deuteron particle as in wave packet ?

[@matzeklingner3902]

You are the best, Becky. Thank you from germany. I hope you and all your friends and relatives stay healthy during these days. Your content makes Quarantine so much easier!

[@xnnui]

Legolas has no mass CONFIRMED xD

[@aner_bda]

Awesome Video Dr. Becky! I had a vague understanding of the Higgs Field going into this video and why the discovery of the Higgs Boson was so awesome, but coming out of it, I have such a better understanding of it all.

[@GenXCoder]

I thought the Higgs field only accounted for a part of the mass of a particle? Isn't the majority of the mass of a particle contained in the binding energy of the quarks?

[@thijsdebont]

You're correct. Dr. Becky should have made the distinction between the mass of the fundamental particles and composite particles, a.k.a. 'stuff'. For e.g. protons and neutrons, the majority of the mass comes from, like you said, the binding energy of the quarks by the gluons.

[@maus3454]

Actually the mass or resistence tomotion originated from the fact that those half-spin particles change spin direction. So called Zig Zag effect. Particles without mass don’t encounter this. So they don’t experience time to take this change of spin direction. Where does Higgs field kicks in, is to cover the conservation of the iso spin charge.

[@guillaumebeuf5050]

Yes: The Higgs field is only responsible for the mass of many fundamental particle: electrons and other leptons , quarks , neutrinos (even though the story is possibly more complicated in their case) , W and Z intermediate bosons ; and it contributes to the mass of the Higgs boson itself via self-interaction. However, all this gives only a few percent of the mass of ordinary matter. Most of the mass in the atomic nuclei comes from the strong interactions between quarks and gluons bound within protons or neutrons.

[@janpietercornet9364]

Derek does a good explanation of that in kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKXGZ4SGg7qkotU

[@thijsdebont]

@@maus3454 Check. But both the photon and W (and Z) bosons have spin 1, yet the photon is massless and the other two have mass. Given your explanation, I can't see how this distinction is made.

[@Phoebus82]

Very nice explanation. I was always told and in physics classes that mass was energy, but didn't know how to connect concepts. You have a sweet voice 🌹

[@henkbarnard1553]

I thought the answer was 42!

[@boterlettersukkel]

We know. 6 x 9.

[@kenhelmers2603]

You have taken my mind and interest back over forty years in time. Thank You

[@robinw77]

There's going to be loads of these comments but... Q. "What gives you mass?" A. Being stuck in the house for 12 days with free access to biscuits xD EDIT: I mean UK type biscuits, not whatever the US ones are ;-)

[@hopegold883]

Yes there’s loads, but yours is the best. The others do t tie in the current sitch

[@michaelsommers2356]

Both types add mass.

[@NandR]

In the southern US, we eat both, in large amonts.

[@cloudysky82]

This is my favorite introduction into explaining higgs boson. Thank you.

[@rickseiden1]

If you're having trouble understanding self-interaction, just ask any teenage boy about it.

[@new-cold-war]

An absolute legend, Ms. Becky, that's what you are.

[@erictaylor5462]

10:00 So neutrinos must be really smelly and unpopular.

[@timbeaton5045]

You should thank your lucky stars that 99.999999999999999999999999% of neutrinos won't actually interact with your nose at all.

[@docostler]

Yeah, I guess so, but on the bright side, there's nothing like a party in a big field.

[@erictaylor5462]

​@@docostler I have a lot of social anxiety. For me parties are the next "best" think to Hell.

[@MichaelYISRAEL]

The best and nicer explanation of the field and Higgs boson ever.

[@hanniffydinn6019]

So: “luminiferous aether”: it was hypothesised that the Earth moves through a "medium" of aether that carries light Luminiferous aether... was kinda right all along....there is an aether everywhere , we just call it the “Higgs” field. 🤯

[@ZK-tn1wv]

You know, I don’t like visiting doctors, but you’re a doctor that I’ll visit everyday!

[@jacopotissino2580]

You can really perceive the astrophysicist's way of talking by the fact that you call experimental findings "observational". As someone originally trained in physics but studying astrophysics I had the exact opposite happen to me, it's always fun to see whether you can spot the background of someone from which word they use!

[@joab757]

Blows my mind that most ppl don’t know anything about quantum physics and the double slit experiment, and we discovered this as early as the 1920’s.

[@davidarmenphoto]

i love your oratory skills. especially that left hand😍

[@stephenmead5488]

It’s semantics I guess, but using “resistance” to describe mass confuses me. Resistance to me is a dampening effect. If you apply a force to a particle it’s direction or velocity will change. The particle will remain in motion until another force acts upon it. If resistance is applied, the kinetic energy (motion) is converted to heat and the particle will tend to slow down or stop. Now attach a particle with mass to an ideal spring and set it into motion and the system will oscillate forever as energy is transferred from the motion of the particle to the force on the spring and back again. No energy is lost to the universe in the form of heat.

[@nmarbletoe8210]

Yup, that is an unfortunate analogy, like most of the Higgs analogies it fails quicker than a rabbit taking a calculus quiz.

[@REDSHlFT]

Congrats on 100K!

[@kasperadamson4654]

This one is beautifully written. Nicely done.

[@funnybugsbunny]

Just discovered your channel today. Already watched 4 videos on a Sunday! Full of history and detailed chain-linking. Amazing... please keep it up. Subscribed!!

[@HansLasser]

Note that Karl Schwarzschild died in 1916. I suppose that his work could only be truly appreciated after WW1.

[@Elwin3918]

I loved the clarity of your explanations on your video👍🏾👌🏾🎉💐keep up the good work🙏🏾

[@jacobusstrydom7017]

The best explanation I have ever heard. Thanks Dr.

[@zerg9523]

As always with science, left with more questions than answers. - The periodic table is unique atomic elements... Is there therefor a table of subatomic particles and a table of fundamental particles? - It is that an atom contains higgs bosons? Or that the electrons, protons and neutrons do? - A photon is low mass so dosn’t interact much with gravity. Is that which causes gravitational lensing or is it the warped space changing the lights path... or both or neither? And i’m only half way through the vid... As always, thanks for the education.

[@onemadscientist7305]

-Here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Model (as you can see there aren't that much elementary particles...) -The Higgs field permeates all of space (literally every point in space) and the Higgs boson is what carries information between the field and the particles, so you will find Higgs bosons near every massive particle interacting with them, but again the field itself permeates all of space, so really you could find the bosons anywhere (I think) especially when you consider the self-interaction (just my 2 cents). Not sure whether I answered your question, but these bosons aren't, like, trapped in the nucleus or anything. -Photons do not have "low mass". They have *zero* mass. None at all. Zip. Nada. They do not see the Higgs field at all. The Higgs field is responsible for the mass of elementary particles (not all, or even most, of the mass out there) and *not* gravity (I know this can be confusing, but it's a really important distinction). Probably the best way to think about about gravitational lensing is in terms of general relativity: massive objects affect spacetime so that the geodesics look curved from an euclidean point of view. I say that it's best to think about it in terms of general relativity, but really, that's the only way to think about it as there is no established quantum theory of gravity yet!

[@Elephantine999]

You are such a good lecturer. I love your videos.

[@Pim3211]

Best youtube upload since the lockdown, thank you!!

[@beatone2000]

Such a pleasure to listen to.

[@propulsar]

Great video. This has opened up so many areas of experimental physics to my understanding. I never really got what the Higgs Boson thing and CERN were really all about.

[@goirish4329]

Hard hat worn wrong =Massive head trauma

[@wtxntz]

The most enlightening, informative and understandable video ever! In one fell swoop explaining the Higgs field, Higgs boson, the nature of mass and the light speed limit. Excellent! Best 17 minutes I've spent in a long time. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 I'm getting snow skis. Does this mean the Ether is back? ;-)

[@JohnnyAdroit]

Regarding the particle zoo: "The finder of a new elementary particle used to be rewarded by a Nobel Prize, but such a discovery now ought to be punished by a 10,000 dollar fine." Carl David Anderson, 1955 Nobel Prize Lecture

[@sns8420]

I thought the Andromeda Galaxy is coming towards the Milky Way - you stated "Hubble used the Red Shift of Andromeda to show that they were moving away from us"

[@Somm_RJ]

Red shift towards the other galaxies not Andromeda towards us. They are using Andromeda as a reference point of the changes in distance from other galaxies.

[@WolfKerensky]

@Dr. Becky: not a physicist here, just an interested layman. Love your videos and the genuine excitement for knowledge that comes across in your videos. I didn't quite grasp why it was necessary to shift thinking from "mass = how much matter stuff contains" towards "mass = how much drag the universe exerts on stuff"? Please help :) Stay safe and healthy! Looking forward to your next video in the series and did already sign up with curiosity stream ;). Keep em coming, girl.

[@richardhough1003]

I love u so much! Watching ur videos helps totally change my mood for the better! Thank u for ur very much needed contribution to my life... Stay safe, and be well!!!

[@martinchambers8090]

Is anyone else totally in awe of Dr Becky? (May be not awe but love?)

[@benesparza5091]

You should do a video on how Higgs fields are affected by black holes. I would think the field has to be affected in order for a black hole to capture photons.

[@EcoFreak13M]

I really appreciate this explanation. the historical context seems very clear. I'd hope that most anyone who can understand the Higgs field probably can understand inertia, so I'd suggest defining and than using the word inertia if you ever re-make this at all.