Quarks

Quarks

Quarks (/kwɔːrks, kwɑːrks/) are the most basic building blocks of matter in the Universe. They are a type of Elementary particle that combine to form hadrons, such as protons and neutrons.

Etymology

The term "quark" was coined by physicist Murray Gell-Mann in 1964. It is derived from a line in James Joyce's novel Finnegans Wake: "Three quarks for Muster Mark!"

Types of Quarks

There are six types, or "flavors", of quarks: up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom. Each quark flavor is associated with a unique quantum property known as quantum number.

• Up Quark (/ʌp kwɔːrk/)
• Down Quark (/daʊn kwɔːrk/)
• Charm Quark (/tʃɑːrm kwɔːrk/)
• Strange Quark (/streɪndʒ kwɔːrk/)
• Top Quark (/tɒp kwɔːrk/)
• Bottom Quark (/bɒtəm kwɔːrk/)

Related Terms

• Quantum mechanics
• Standard Model
• Particle physics
• Strong interaction
• Weak interaction

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