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The Behavior and Study of Particles Essay

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Particles are a very important part of this world. From the particles that make up all the humans in the world to the particles that make up the clothes we wear. Particles define the world we live in and everything we know about it. From the behavior of particles, scientists can determine many things about the world and the way it works. The simple definition of a particle is that it is a minute portion of matter. While not incorrect this answer lacks complexity. As was previously stated, particles make up everything; but, they also make up even the most basic form of matter the atom. Protons, neutrons, and electrons are all particles that make up an atom. Protons and neutrons themselves are made of individual particles called quarks. A …show more content…

Mesons, made of quark pairs, are usually found in cosmic rays. Quarks combine to form charges of -1, 0, or +1. Quarks in Baryons and Mesons are bound together by strong forces formed from the exchange of gluons. Much like how the electromagnetic force strength is determined by the amount of electric charge, the strong force strength is determined by a new quantity called color charge. (abyss.uoregon.edu)
Quarks come in three colors, red, blue, and green. Although the implication is that quarks are colored, these terms are not meant to indicate a particular hue but instead describe the color of the charge of the quark. So, unlike electromagnetic charges which come in two types (positive and negative or north and south), color charge in quarks comes in three types. Color charge also has its anti-particle nature. So there is anti-red, anti-blue and anti-green. Gluons serve to act as the carrier of the color when they interact with quarks. Baryons and mesons must have a mix of colors such that the result is white. For example, red, blue, and green make white. Also red and anti-red make white. (abyss.uoregon.edu)
There can exist no free quarks; meaning no quarks can exist on their own. All quarks must be bound to another quark or antiquark by the exchange of gluons. This is called quark confinement. The exchange of gluons produces a color force field, referring to the assignment of color charge to quarks, similar to electric charge. The

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