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/sci/ - Science & Math

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2250311 No.2250311 [Reply] [Original]

Could someone please be as so kind as to explain to a person with no grasp of higher mathematics, what mass is, according to our current level of understanding (and how it correlates with the simplistic, popular atom model).

>> No.2250321

Mass is the 'stuff' inside matter.

FUNFACT: If you go on the moon you have less mass

>> No.2250322

Mass is a measure of an object's inertia.

>> No.2250318

Erm, no.

>> No.2250328

>>2250321

i said HIGHER mathematics; that would make me stupid science-wise, not full on retard

>> No.2250332

>>2250321
you have the same mass on the moon as on earth.
you do, however, have less WEIGHT

>> No.2250333

Mass is defined as the constant of proportionality between force and acceleration. If one object has a higher mass than a second object, the first one requires a higher force to produce the same acceleration. Basically, the amount of inertia something has. This is mass according to classical ideology.

Modern physics says that E=mc^2, where things get a whole lot more complicated. Mass is no longer treated in the equation F = ma, but instead "curves space" (general relativity). Also the presence of energy creates higher mass (if you compress a spring, it's mass goes up, but it's basically negligible). I'm not too familiar with general relativity, but if you want to know what mass is, the classical ideology should be good enough.

>> No.2250334

>>2250332
trolled, son.

>> No.2250340

>>2250321
PleasebetrollingPleasebetrollingPleasebetrollingPleasebetrollingPleasebetrollingPleasebetrollingPlea
sebetrollingPleasebetrollingPleasebetrollingPleasebetrollingPleasebetrolling

>> No.2250347

Mass is that property of an object which causes it to resist acceleration.

If objects A and B are subjected to the same force, and A accelerates N times more than B, we say that A has N times LESS mass than B.

what actually causes it is unknown to me, although there does seem to be a correlation between mass and our intuitive notion of the "amount" of a substance.

>> No.2250356

mass is like god
it is every where
even inside you
it doesn't do much
and you have to believe in it to get into science heaven

>> No.2250367 [DELETED] 

It's when we celebrate Him and all that He has done for us.

>> No.2250369

>>2250333

thank you for responding, however i need you to be more specific until all is left in the "story" is basic forces and space building up to mass and it's relation to matter. if it's not possible to do in a thread please recommend a book or something keeping in mind my mathematical handicap :)
(but try none the less)

>> No.2250370
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2250370

It's when we celebrate Him and all that He has done for us.

>> No.2250376
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2250376

>>2250370

inb4 dark ages

>> No.2250385

>>2250376
inb4 dies and goes to Hell

>> No.2250474
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2250474

>> No.2250497

Mass is an intrinsic property of matter, the resistance to change or to a force.

>> No.2250501

it's um, symmetry breaking, um higgs field um

>> No.2250509

>>2250376
>integral form
Get out.

>> No.2250520
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2250520

>>2250311
Mass is an excitation in the field of an object (objects are really described by Quantum fields).

The definite mass is akin to a dirac delt of the field. A probabalistic mass is a guassian.

\thread

>> No.2250574

>>2250520

>A probabalistic mass is a guassian.
>probabalistic mass
>probabalistic
>balistic

>> No.2250661

bump

>> No.2252350

>>2250311

Without watering down, according to our current level of understanding, mass is the eigenvalue of the momentum operator in a rest frame of reference. Since impulse operators generate symmetries in space-time it's a conserved quantity, so it's eigenvalues are constants of evolution of the system. That's what's called "mass". Spin for example, is the same thing just for the angular momentum operators.

And all mumbo-jumbo this isn't even higher math. Just vector spaces theory and linear algebra: so look up vector spaces, linear operators and spectral theory (and just a little bit of group theory, so you can understand what "symmetry" means).

>> No.2252353

>>2252350
>impulse operators

Sorry, meant momentum operators.

>> No.2252881

>>2252350

HAHAHA!!! that makes no sense at all!!!

>> No.2252910

We don't EXACTLY know, scientists admit to this, but /sci/ never will because such a fundamental concept they feel they should know and they're damn insecure about their knowledge.

So don't expect anything coherent.

>> No.2253519

undead thread is undead