Explain Mass.

[arkain101]

I am curious to hear some people's best description of what exactly seems to give 'mass' its mass. What or how is it that mass has inertia. What reason exactly does it want to be as it is and fire back an equal force of anything that forces upon it?
No simple obvious answers like, It has mass/inertia because its heavy. In my humble opinion it seems mysterious where mass comes from and how inertia exists.

[Racoon]

Mass...???

Massive!- means BIG. bigger than individual atoms. There's something "substantial" - substance

word associatingly,
Racoon

[arkain101]

No simple obvious answers like, It has mass/inertia because its heavy

Thanks for the reply Racoon, I guess you didnt quite catch the question though..
:

[GOLDEN]

It seems like mass is possibly the most tricky subject for physics to describe in any realistic or accurate way. After 81 years of theoretical development and technological advances Einstein still provides the most accurate explanation of what mass is in general relativity. Mass and Gravity are inextricably linked and an explanation of gravity as a curved space-time clarifies the rules by which so called "massive objects" are constrained. Thus modern physics answers this question by posing it again as "what is mass if not a measure of its affect on the local universe?" It is for precisely this reason that gravity and the forces of the quantum field have not yet been neatly tied up under the umbrella of a single theory. Mass remains a mystery because science has not yet successfully detected the mechanism of gravity. Gravitons provide a theoretical grappling point but still only exist in theory as their direct observation has thus far eluded scientists. The best physics can do at present is measure and calculate the force of gravity for an object in a specific state and region. Even general relativity does not offer a complete explanation as to what specific property of an object is actually responsible for the measure of its mass (with the exception of answers like size, density or energy content). So to answer your question mass is the measure of inertia for small objects and the gravity of large ones beyond that is purely theoretical speculation.

[hallenrm]

Mass, as I have started to believe (courtsey some discussions in Hypography, is the quality of objects, that is due to their inertia, that is, the ability or resistance of objects to propagate/move. For physical objects it manifests itself through the gravitational force, for spiritual objects like thoughts and imaginations it is an imaginary quantity, that qualifies them towards movement.

This is an extension of the views I expressed elsewhere on Hypography. I think it is a direction towards a new revolution in the natural philosophy, whether the leader of this revolution tomorrow will be myself of someone else does not matter

[Racoon]

Originally Posted by Racoon

Mass...???
Massive!. bigger than individual atoms.

Right Arkain.

Mass- (noun) 1) a body of matter. 2) a quantity of matter in a body 3) an assemblage of particles or things.

The sense of "Mass" as in 'bulk' comes from the Greek *Maza"*which means *cake , lump*

[kamil]

From what i heard physicists cant explain what is mass on a fundamental level.
In high school it is simply taught as 'the measurement of matter', but more advanced textbooks explain this a meaningless definition since it cant be explained quantitevely. I mean i never could digest this explanation when i first heard it because in High School they also defined matter as bieng soemthing that has mass.

So:

'Matter is something that has a mass'

'Mass is a measurement of matter'

It is clearly evident how meaningless these two definitions are together.

Physicists are now looking for a particle that is responsible for mass known as 'Higgs Boson' but it hasnt been found yet.

[Racoon]

What happens when you get down to the smallest particle before there is No Mass??
What bridges the Gap between No-Mass and Mass??

[kamil]

Originally Posted by Racoon

What happens when you get down to the smallest particle before there is No Mass??
What bridges the Gap between No-Mass and Mass??

I dunno lol, nature is vdery mysterious. I would guess Higgs Boson or no Higgs Boson
The small details of nature are the most puzzling ones, i mean if you think deep enough you will find existence extremely confusing.

"Don't think to deep or you'll drown"

[arkain101]

What bridges the Gap between No-Mass and Mass??

This is the challenge of my question. Why does mass have mass. I was not looking for the definition of the word.
What is it that makes a difference between a particle with 'no mass' and an aparent particle with mass. Is it all tied into the space-time field.. is it because everything is somehow connected or One field with many types of disturbances being all types of 'things'

Great responses so far, looking forward to anyones best go.