I have no Masters degree in Physics. But I have this question and like to know, what scientists think. We all agree as a first principle that there is an attraction between any two objects having Mass. Newton succeeded in quantifying the force of attraction in terms distance between the objects and their masses.
As per Theory Of relativity gravitational force travels as waves: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_wave
If that is right, we still don’t know what is mass? But mankind knows proton and neutron have nearly equal mass, while an electron has a fraction of the mass of a neutron. Does mankind know what gives them the mass? We know string theory proposes, each may be a form of vibrating energy string. That means, different kind of vibration might be giving different mass.
In another perspective, the mass of a particle is attraction that the particle exerts on another particle having mass. Although laymen things mass determines the attraction, it is equally true that the attraction determines the mass. That is, if the distance from A to B is X-miles, then saying distance between B to A is X-miles is equally true. So we can say mass is resultant of attraction excreted (radiation or radiated) by a mater (instead of saying gravitational force is excreted by mass). That is, if there exists a mater that doesn't radiate gravitational waves, it would have Zero mass.
For example, a huge body (made of matter) radiating no gravitational force would have no mass (so to speak). It can even pass by a black hole, as if nothing exist there. I believe, string theory trying to answer this kind of questions to solve this puzzle.
What would happen, if an elephant is hit by such huge body having a size of a bus and elementary particles of that body can’t pass through a body of the elephant made of electrons, protons and neutrons?
Just try to imagine that not the gravity itself is a consequence of mass but mass is a consequence of gravity - thinner organizational form (energy) as a cause for more concrete organizational form (matter).
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