The Concept of Mass - with Jim Baggott

Everything around us is made of ‘stuff’, or matter. But what is it, exactly?

Jim Baggott will explore our changing understanding of the nature of matter, from the ancient Greeks to the development of quantum field theory and the discovery of the Higgs boson.

Jim Bagott is an award-winning science writer. He trained as a scientist, completing a doctorate in chemical physics at the University of Oxford in the early 80s, before embarking on post-doctoral research studies at Oxford and at Stanford University in California.

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[shaileshrana]

That audience did not deserve you, good sir

[MichaelHarrisIreland]

"I think it’s revolutionary that ANY man with an internet connection has access to this information. Remember, once there was a time not too long ago when information like this was only accessible by the elite and the wealthy". Just to repeat J K from a year ago.

[julianbroadhurst]

Sometimes it is instructive to have things you thought you knew well, explained real slow, by someone who really understands it - especially when you gain a subtle insight you had not known before, that makes a huge difference.

[billmunsie]

Your mom was correct . Your choice of word size was correct and now my understanding of mass is finally correct took 77years for this particular pleasure to happen, thank you.

[fourquartets]

What a wonderful lecture! Jim Baggott has a great sense of humour, and his patience with people like me meant that I was able to understand his lecture, learn a lot, and enjoy it at the same time. Thanks so much!

[asokoniso]

What an eloquent lecture for which an hour is rightfully spent in the most joyous way possible.

[FranklinNewhart]

Clear and concise. A lecture that even a primary pupil could grasp. All. the concepts are presented in a way that has given me a better understanding of the higgs boson than I have yet had.

[ernestolombardo]

This man has a spectacular way with words and tone.

[brandonmorad]

Thank you very much, Mr. Baggott, for your superbly explaining "The Concept Of Mass". You are a phenomenal Physicist.

[bigcountry]

I came up with my own theory of massless particle deflection, as an explanation for gravitation of bodies, and mass. This is exactly it, with a few added details about gluons. TY so much.

[mattbustamante]

I didn't think such a complex subject could be explained in a clear enough way so that it could be understood by my small brain. Thank you for this!

[charliehubbard]

As I type this, this video has approximately 3, 000 likes and 300 dislikes, meaning 10% of the people that cared to weigh in, hated this talk, and I am mystified by that. I have watched a LOT of Christmas Lectures and Evening Discourses via this YouTube channel. Some of them are better than others, but I don't know if I have ever seen a difficult topic presented so clearly, delivered so brilliantly as the material in this lecture was. I am embarrassed to say, I don't really know who Jim Baggott is, but I do know he knows how to give a lecture. Well done, sir. Thank you.


And to those who felt the pace was too slow, may I suggest that you tell YouTube to deliver it faster than real-time (a playback setting you can set via the Settings icon). It does this well, without distorting the pitch of the audio. I did this myself, watching this lecture at 1.25 times faster than real time. However, I don't think the pace of the lecture was too slow. I think it was spot on. I watch most RI videos at 1.5x real time. This one was compelling enough to slow down.

[Decco]

I love how he adds humor, (I did laugh some)

and the crowd is just dead silent


oof
I felt that from here

[madderhat]

Excellent talk, again a great deal was clarified that was missing from other documentaries.I'm binge watching these lectures at the moment and learning a huge amount or rather my small brain is kindly being fed by these great lecturers.

[williamnot]

We live in an age where the line between Science Fiction and Science Fact is becoming blurred evolving into Magic. I am 73 and have always been fascinated by Technology. I have studied Electronics since the first time I saw a Valve Radio operating with its covers off. I want to live forever just to see what happens.

[parttroll]

I bought his book on the back of this. Love stuff like this, advanced physics explained in a simple manner for the layman.

[sanjchiro]

Brilliant and lucid explanation of where we are at in regards to understanding mass. I particularly appreciated the clarity of the discovery that 95% of the mass of things (such as my body) is due to the energy contained by massless gluons binding quarks together. I feel a little more enlightened, thank you Mr Baggott

[trulucy]

I enjoyed this lecture and how he would pause for a second or two so I could soak in and understand a point he made. I am an older black guy living in the south suburbs of Chicago with less than two years of college but I’ve always have been curious about the world and am glad I’m living in 2019 and know how to use the smartphone iPhone my daughter taught me how to use. I appreciate I can learn so many different legitimate things I couldn’t learn otherwise without a financial cost I cannot afford and without an unnecessary degree. Thank you for posting all of your videos.

[McBeeverk]

Maybe I just can't hear it but the audience really didn't help this guy, it's sort of an etiquette to laugh at any humour at these talks, no matter how bad the joke or quip is, and I thought this guy gave a well presented talk and made a number of witty remarks. It's not for comedy purposes but it helps the speaker connect with the audience and can really settle the speaker's nerves. Leaving awkward pauses only puts more pressure on a naturally daunting lecture. We've all done public speaking at some stage I'm sure you can relate.

[edinson]

Jim looks like the kind of guy who embodies the establishment... a real authority figure :D
What a great lecture. Seems like he'd make a very patient teacher.