Quark
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An atom consists of three fundamental particles: an electron, a
proton, and a neutron. However, scientific discoveries have come
thick and fast over the past century. Understanding the structure of
the atom has led to the discovery of some more elementary
particles. One of them is quark.
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What are Quarks
Quarks are a fundamental building block (size ~10−18 m) of matter
found in an atom. The other one is leptons. They give an account of
all mesons and baryons. The most familiar baryons are the protons
and neutrons, which consist of quarks. Quarks are not made of
anything. They join to form composite particles called hadrons. The
most stable of them are protons and neutrons, the components of
atomic nuclei.
How were Quarks Discovered
In 1963, American physicists Murray Gell-Mann and George
Zweigon experimented with the Stanford linear accelerator. During
this experiment, electrons were fired at protons, which were found
to bounce off. Scientists thought there must be some charged tiny
sub-particles within protons, due to which the electrons are getting
bounced off.
Later, Murray Gell-Mann named these unusual particles quarks’
influenced by the James Joyce novel ‘Finnegans Wake’.
Types and Charges of Quarks in an Atom
Quarks are found to exist in six flavors. They are now commonly
designated up, down, strange, charmed, bottom, and top. Each
contains a fractional value of the electron charge (i.e., a charge less
than that of the electron, e).
Each proton and neutron contain three quarks; however, they are of
two types. Each up quark contains a charge of +2/3. In contrast, each
down quark has a charge of -1/3. The sum of the quark charges
making up a nuclear particle gives its electrical charge.
A proton includes two up quarks and one down quark. Thus it has
a total charge of +1.
+2/3 +2/3 -1/3 = +1
A neutron includes one up quark and two down quarks, thus with
a total charge of 0.
+2/3 -1/3 -1/3 = 0
Quark
Strange quarks had charge −1/3e occur as components of K mesons
and various other highly short-lived subatomic particles. All quarks
have a baryon number (B = 1/3) and a lepton number (L = 0). There
is an antiparticle known as an antiquark for every quark flavor. It
has equal magnitude but different electric charges and opposite
signs.
The flavor also determines other unique properties, such as a
quark’s mass, spin, and parity, which are impossible to measure
directly. It is because quarks are not observed independently but
combined with other quarks. This property is called ‘quark
confinement.
The following table outlines each of the different flavors of quarks
and their properties:
Mass Charge Baryon
Type of Weak Name of Symbol of
Symbol (in (proportion number
Quark Isospin Antiparticle Antiparticle
MeV/c2) of e) (B)
1.5 to
1.Up u +2/3 +1/2 +1/3 antiup u
4.0
2.
d 4 to 8 -1/3 -1/2 +1/3 antidown d
Down
3. 80 to
s -1/3 -1/2 +1/3 antistrange s
Strange 130
1150
4.
c to +2/3 +1/2 +1/3 anticharm c
Charm
1350
170200
5. Top t to +2/3 +1/2 +1/3 antitop t
174800
4100
6.
b to 1/3 -1/2 +1/3 antibottom b
Bottom
4400
The quarks and antiquarks in an atom are divided into three (first,
second, and third) generations as shown in the diagram below with
their charges.
Types of Quarks
FAQs
Q.1. What is smaller than a quark
Ans. In particle physics, preons are point particles found as sub-
components of quarks and leptons
References
Article was last reviewed on Friday, February 17, 2023
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