HIGGS: WHY MATTER HAS MASS

Particles may be more massive than one another because they feel the Higgs field differently

MEETING THE HIGGS FIELD

The Higgs field occurs everywhere and gives matter particles mass. We can envision the Higgs field as a group of evenly separated balls.

ENTER ORDINARY MATTER

When a particle of ordinary matter moves through the Higgs field, the field becomes excited and forms Higgs bosons, which cluster around the particle and provide it with mass.

HIGH-SPEED PHOTONS

Particles can move through space without interacting with the Higgs field. They don’t gain any mass from Higgs bosons and remain massless. A photon is one such particle.