Everything in the world, all matter that exists, is made up of atoms. Atoms are extraordinarily small. However, there are even smaller particles than atoms. Subatomic particles, such as protons, neutrons, and electrons, were thought to be the smallest particles there were. However, it was discovered that there could be something even smaller.
Atoms are made up of two major sections, the nucleus and the electron cloud. Electrons are found in the electron cloud, and the nucleus is made up of protons and neutrons. Protons are positively charged, while neutrons have no charge, and are slightly more massive than the protons. It used to be thought that protons and neutrons were solid, fundamental particles. It turns out, however, that they are made up of something even smaller.
“Physicists have discovered that protons and neutrons are composed of even smaller particles called quarks” (“Particle”, 6). It used to be thought that the
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Charge is exactly what it sounds like: the electromagnetic charge the particle exhibits. “Quarks have the unusual characteristic of having a fractional electric charge” (“Particle”, 14). For example, the ‘Up’ quark has a charge of +⅔, while the “Down” quark has a charge of -⅓. This is important in the forming of baryons (particles made up of three quarks), as it will determine the charge of the baryon.
Yet another property of quarks is its ‘color.’ “Each flavor comes in three ‘colors,’ red’ green, and blue” (Hawking, 67). Unlike spin and charge, color does not necessarily affect the way a quark will behave. Color is, however, important in the formation of baryons. Baryons are “made up of three quarks, one of each color” (Hawking, 67). It is necessary to have all three colors present, regardless of which flavors are being used. The final property of quarks is the simplest to understand: mass. Each flavor of quark has a different mass, and the large the quark is, the more unstable it