On Monday, March 3, 2025, a public lecture titled The Origin of Mass was held at the Kranj City Library, presented by Prof. Dr. Saša Prelovšek Komelj, a SQUASH advisor in the field of Quantum Calculations and Simulations.
In the lecture, Prof. Dr. Prelovšek Komelj explained in a simple and accessible way where the mass of elementary particles comes from—and thus the mass of all visible matter in the universe. While the Higgs mechanism is the most widely known explanation among the public and accounts for a small portion of mass, the majority of matter’s mass arises from the strong nuclear force between quarks—the fundamental building blocks of protons and neutrons.
The lecture was part of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ 2025) initiative. We also invite you to explore the Event Guide for other events of the initiative, where several of our SQUASH advisors are featured in upcoming international activities.