Fundamental Particles Flashcards
Incomplete
Why are protons and neutrons not fundamental particles?
They are made up of quarks - something smaller fits inside of them.
What is a proton made up from?
2 up quarks and one down quark.
What is a neutron made up from?
2 down quarks and one up quark.
What is a hadron?
A particle that can feel the strong interaction and is made up of quarks.
State the two types of hadron.
Baryons and mesons.
Why are most hadrons not found in ordinary matter?
They are very unstable on only exist briefly.
What is a baryon made up from?
Three quarks.
Protons and neutrons are both types of…?
Baryons.
How do we assign baryon numbers?
Baryons have a baryon number of +1, antibaryons have a baryon number of -1, and everything else has a baryon number of 0.
What is a meson made up from?
1 quark and 1 antiquark.
What is an antibaryon made up from?
Three antiquarks.
What do mesons decay into?
Leptons and photons.
Give two types of mesons.
Pions and kaons.
What is the only stable baryon?
A proton.
How many types of pion are there, and where were they first found?
Three - one for each single charge and one with a neutral charge. In cosmic rays.
How many different kaons are there?
Three - one for each single charge and one with a neutral charge.
Name a difference between pions and kaons.
Kaons are heavier than pions.
How do mesons interact with baryons, and what interaction occurs?
Via strong interaction. They swap protons with neutrons and vice versa, and disappear.
What are leptons?
They don’t feel the strong interaction.
Name the three types of leptons.
Electrons, muons and taus.
Which lepton is stable?
The electron.
What do muons and taus decay into?
Electrons.
What is the counterpart of a lepton called?
A neutrino.
What is the charge on a lepton?
-1
What is the charge on a lepton neutrino?
0
What do neutrons decay into, and what can we call this decay?
Protons, electrons and antineutrinos. This is an example of beta decay.
How many types of beta decay are there?
Two.
What is beta minus decay?
A neutron turning into a proton via weak interaction of quarks that releases an electron and an electron antineutrino.
What is beta plus decay?
A proton turning into a nuetron via weak interaction of quarks that releases a positron and an electron neutrino.
Name the 6 types of quark.
Up, down, strange, top, bottom, charm.
