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**zilsolley3** · 08-24-2011, 12:20 PM

I know physics at the university level, but none of this advanced theoretical stuff. To me, it's always seemed like stuff only really good mathematicians can understand. This is unlike chemistry or biology, where it's possible to give simplified explanations of concepts without going into the math.

The part I didn't understand was about the Higgs boson giving mass to matter. How is mass defined in contemporary physics (I'm talking on the subatomic level, not the Newtonian definition)? I hope people will continue the discussion. Not a lot of time now due to Ramadan, but hopefully afterward. I just bought a couple of books by Martin Rees which I hope will cast some light on some of this stuff for me.

I wouldn't really care about it, but I want to know how much of what physicists say is true because of the philosophical implications.

08-24-2011, 12:20 PM	#5
zilsolley3 Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 446 Senior Member	I know physics at the university level, but none of this advanced theoretical stuff. To me, it's always seemed like stuff only really good mathematicians can understand. This is unlike chemistry or biology, where it's possible to give simplified explanations of concepts without going into the math. The part I didn't understand was about the Higgs boson giving mass to matter. How is mass defined in contemporary physics (I'm talking on the subatomic level, not the Newtonian definition)? I hope people will continue the discussion. Not a lot of time now due to Ramadan, but hopefully afterward. I just bought a couple of books by Martin Rees which I hope will cast some light on some of this stuff for me. I wouldn't really care about it, but I want to know how much of what physicists say is true because of the philosophical implications.
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