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Single Idea 21163

[catalogued under 27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 4. Standard Model / d. Mass]

Full Idea

Most of a proton's or neutrino's mass is contained in the interaction energies of a 'sea' of quarks, antiquarks and gluons that bind them. ...You might feel solid, but in fact you're 99 per cent binding energy.

Gist of Idea

The mass of protons and neutrinos is mostly binding energy, not the quarks

Source

New Scientist writers (Why the Universe Exists [2017], 04)

A Reaction

This is because energy is equivalent to mass (although gluons are said to have energy but no mass - puzzled by that). This is a fact which needs a bit of time to digest. Once you've grasped we are full of space, you still have understood it.

Book Reference

New Scientist writers: 'Why the Universe Exists' [John Murray 2017], p.79