# Physicists - so, how is the Higgs Field NOT ether?!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physicists-so-how-is-the-higgs-field-not-ether/686541>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 20, 2014, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physicists-so-how-is-the-higgs-field-not-ether/686541 "2014-04-20T14:38:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physicists-so-how-is-the-higgs-field-not-ether/686541/61 "2014-04-24T18:42:52Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> (Nor, for that matter, is the Higgs responsible for all mass, which breaks the analogy with ether even further. The mass of the proton is almost two orders of magnitude larger than the sum of the mass of the corresponding quarks, and that extra contribution is not a result of the Higgs.)

The same is true of the neutron. And to take that a step further, protons and neutrons in turn make up about 99.97% of the mass of all matter we’re familiar with. Which means that not only is not all mass unrelated to the Higgs, but the vast majority of it is unrelated to it.

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**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physicists-so-how-is-the-higgs-field-not-ether/686541/62 "2014-04-24T18:49:31Z")

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This thread has been very educational.

I love you guys.

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**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physicists-so-how-is-the-higgs-field-not-ether/686541/63 "2014-04-24T19:01:05Z")

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> [@Chronos](#):
>
> And again, if you’re going to say that something is “like ether”, then you have to say _which_ ether it is you’re talking about, since the 19th-century concept of ether is about as unlike the classical concept of ether as it’s possible to be.

So what you’re saying is the comparison isn’t an ether-or proposition.

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**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physicists-so-how-is-the-higgs-field-not-ether/686541/64 "2014-04-24T19:23:56Z")

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> [@Ludovic](#):
>
> So what you’re saying is the comparison isn’t an ether-or proposition.

A sputtering start, some traction, a zealot-driven kerfuffle, more traction and clarity, a wonderful thought from **Doc Cathode** (I agree!) followed by a truly godawful pun - I think I got a Doperfecta out of this thread.

Thanks!

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