Particle Talk - Quarks

Quarks are fundamental particles that make up hadrons like protons and neutrons. In the current Standard Model, they are classified as elementary particles with no smaller internal structure discovered. There are six types of quarks: up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom, each with different masses and electric charges. A proton is composed of two up quarks and one down quark, while a neutron consists of one up quark and two down quarks. The strong interaction acts between quarks, mediated by particles called gluons. A key characteristic of quarks is color confinement, meaning they are never observed in isolation but always exist in combination with other quarks. Mesons, formed by two quarks, and baryons, formed by three quarks, are representative hadrons. It is hypothesized that in the extremely high temperatures and densities of the early universe, a state of quark-gluon plasma existed where quarks and gluons moved freely. Current particle accelerator experiments are working to reproduce and study these extreme conditions.