QUARKS - What are they exactly? What do they do?

According to the study of particle physics, a quark is a basic fundamental particle, which makes up protons and neutrons, and are therefore, one of the components of all matter. It is considered, that quarks are basic elementary particles, ]that cannot be divided, because they do not actually consist of any other particles.

The Standard Model of particle physics, which explains the basic fundamental particles and their interactions, indeed includes quarks. Together with leptons (such as electrons and neutrinos), they are categorized as elementary fermions. Fermions are a group of particles that form the basic elements, or building blocks, of matter.

Being unique particles, quarks bind together, in clusters, to make more-familiar subatomic particles, such as protons and neutrons, through the strong force. The strong force is mediated by particles called gluons, which bind the quarks, within the protons, and neutrons, of stable matter. Quarks also experience the weak force, which is the force that allows protons to turn into neutrons, and vice versa, through beta decay, as well as the electromagnetic force, which is the interaction between electrically charged particles, such as protons, electrons, and ions. Quarks are unusual in that way.

There are six distinct quark varieties, or flavours, each with unique characteristics. They are.

Number 1. The up quark. denoted as U. This is one of the lightest quarks and has a charge of Plus two thirds.

Number 2. The down quark. denoted as D. This is rather light, and has a charge of minus one third.

Number 3. Charm quark, denoted C, is heavier than the up and down quarks, and has a charge of plus two thirds.

Number 4. Strange quarks. These are heavier than up and down quarks, and have a charge of minus one third.

Number 5. The top quark, T, is the heaviest known quark, and has a charge of plus two thirds.

And Finally, number 6. Bottom quark, or b, is fairly heavy, and has a charge of minus one third.

Due to a characteristic known as confinement, quarks are never found alone, instead, they are always bound with other quarks, or, antiquarks, to create composite particles known as hadrons. Protons and neutrons, which are composed of mixtures of up and down quarks, are the most prevalent hadrons. Understanding the behaviour of matter, and the fundamental forces that control the universe, requires a thorough understanding of quarks, and their interactions.

Have great day

Craig