masslaw

Masslaw is a term encountered mainly in informal discussions and science fiction to denote a proposed universal principle governing mass. It is not a formal law in mainstream physics, and there is no consensus definition or empirical support for it.

Because the term lacks a standard meaning, various writers and researchers have offered different interpretations. In some speculative models, masslaw describes a direct relationship between a body's inertial or gravitational mass and its interaction with a hypothetical field, substrate, or information-theoretic medium. In other contexts, it is invoked as an emergent rule stating that mass arises from collective dynamics in complex systems rather than existing as an intrinsic property of isolated particles.

In science fiction, masslaw often functions as a plot device to justify mass variation with location, energy state, or technology that can manipulate mass directly. In these uses, the term is simply shorthand for an assumed, broad principle rather than a tested theory.

By contrast, established physics treats mass through several well-supported concepts. Inertia and gravitation are described within Newtonian mechanics and general relativity; the Higgs mechanism provides masses for fundamental particles via interactions with the Higgs field; and mass–energy equivalence relates mass to energy through E = mc^2. There is no recognized theory formally named masslaw in current physics.

See also: Mass, Inertia, Higgs mechanism, Mass–energy equivalence, Emergent mass, Information theory and physics.