3 ms·
> A common approach has been to tell a tall tale. Here’s one version: There’s this substance, like a soup, that fills the universe; that’s the Higgs field. As p
by sieste 2y ago
> A common approach has been to tell a tall tale. Here’s one version: There’s this substance, like a soup, that fills the universe; that’s the Higgs field. As particles move through it, the soup slows them down, and that’s how particles get mass.
Is that really so? I've never heard this analogy, so the whole premise seems a bit of a straw man...
- Sniffnoy 2y agoI've seen it a bunch, FWIW.
- pests 2y agoA "tall tale" is one that is likely false.
- pdonis 2y ago> Is that really so? As the article notes, no, this is not a correct description.
- sieste 2y agosorry for the confusion, I meant is it really the case that this is a commonly used description of the higgs field.
- pdonis 2y ago> is it really the case that this is a commonly used description of the higgs field. For whatever it's worth, it's not a description I had seen before I read the article. It's certainly not one you're going to find in actual textbooks or physics papers.