The Molasses Analogy

Picture a room full of thick molasses. A marble rolls through slowly because the molasses resists it. A ping-pong ball moves a bit faster. A beam of light cuts straight through at full speed.

• The Higgs field fills all of space, like the molasses
• Heavy particles (like the top quark) drag through it strongly
• Light particles (like electrons) slip through more easily
• Photons don't interact at all — they pass as if it isn't there

Mass, in this view, isn't built into a particle. It's the relationship between the particle and the Higgs field.