Subatomic particle

Subatomic particles are things smaller than an atom.

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— Outline Only —
This article is only a brief description of the subject and is not intended to give a full explanation.
Check out the "see also" or "references" sections, or Wikipedia's article for more detail.

Types of subatomic particles

Some subatomic particles are components of atoms, like protons, neutrons, quarks, tiny neutrinos and electrons; these are a subset of fermions. There are also bosons of assorted kinds including photons, gluons and possibly gravitons. One notable boson is the Higgs boson which was confirmed to exist in July 2012.

The list of subatomic particles is, according to some theories, literally endless, and certainly is very long—particularly if you include the resonance particles, whose existence can only be inferred by spikes in an energy-capture graph.

Some, perhaps most, subatomic particles have anti-matter equivalents, but photons, according to current theories, are the same in matter and antimatter.

Quantum effects

Reality at the subatomic level is different from the way reality appears on the macroscopic scale that we normally observe. We evolved to understand reality on our natural scale; reality on the subatomic particle scale is perplexing and counter-intuitive to us.

Subatomic particles have both particle-like and wavelike properties. It is also intrinsically impossible to tell, simultaneously, a particle's exact position and motion.

See also

• Physics

External links

• Subatomic Particles: So That's What's in an Atom