Elementary particles

The building blocks of matter and radiation: the smallest known objects that cannot be broken into smaller pieces under normal conditions. Elementary particles are the alphabet of the universe, and understanding them reveals how everything—from atoms to stars—is composed.

Modern physics identifies two fundamental classes. Fermions are matter particles with intrinsic angular momentum called spin; they include quarks (which bind to form protons and neutrons) and leptons (like electrons). Bosons are force carriers: the photon mediates electromagnetism, gluons bind quarks together, and the Higgs boson endows particles with mass.

The framework organizing these particles is the Standard Model of particle physics, developed over decades by experimentalists and theorists. It describes three of nature's four fundamental forces with stunning precision. Yet mysteries remain: Why do particles have the masses they do? What about gravity? What is dark matter?

Elementary particles are studied at particle accelerators like CERN's Large Hadron Collider, where scientists smash particles at nearly light speed to glimpse the universe's deepest structure. Each collision echoes with the echoes of creation itself.

Related

Quantum mechanics, Atoms, Subatomic particles, Antimatter, Particle physics, Symmetry (physics)