Article
Article
Quark
Article By:
Jones, Lawrence W. Harrison M. Randell Laboratory of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Greenberg, O. W. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Division of Mathematical and Physical Science and Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland.
Last reviewed:August 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.563300
Show previous versions
- Quarks, published June 2014:Download PDF
Get Adobe Acrobat Reader
Elementary particles composing protons, neutrons, and other basic particle types. Because they cannot stably exist in isolation, quarks are always associated with other quarks—or their antimatter opposites, antiquarks—in two-, three-, four- and five-particle arrangements, giving rise to hundreds of composite particles called hadrons (Fig. 1). The interactions of quarks with fundamental forces and other matter are an integral component of the standard model of particle physics, which has been very successful in understanding and predicting many phenomena in nature. See also: Antimatter; Atom; Fundamental interactions; Hadron; Neutron; Proton; Standard model
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
