Theoretically, it is supposed to me a new field in nature which would currently 'lurk' behind the scenes as a new property of the physical vacuum. It doesn't work like gravitational or electromagnetic fields. It acts by quietly and locally 'interacting' with every particle at a specific spot in space. It does not communicate its effect across space because it is already present every where in space since the time of the Big Bang itself. As particles interact with this new local field, their masses are affected depending on the particular class of particle involved.
Some particles become massive, some remain massless like the photon.
Return to the Ask the Space Scientist main page.