The World is filled with stuff, well we call this matter when you add a pinch of Physics to it. Matter is everything that has mass and volume. Now, if I handed you a potato and asked you what is this made of, what would you say? “Ehh… Sugar?” Close, but let’s rephrase the question, what is the smallest particle in the potato? Let me answer that for you, they are called elementary particles. They are the basic building blocks for the subatomic particles, which form something we have heard about, atoms.
The Atom
An atom is made up of protons and neutrons which make up the nucleus in the centre. Electrons orbit the nucleus in clouds. So, we can't exactly predict the position of an electron at a point in time, but there is a probability that it will be there in a given space which is known as a cloud. Atoms make up everything in the universe. We have now found particles which make up protons and neutrons. These are known as elementary particles. For now, that's all we know!
The ideas about atoms are constantly changing and evolving. Here are scientists in order of the year and how they changed the atomic model: 1. Democritus: Early Model 2. John Dalton: Solid Sphere Model 3. J. J. Thompson: Plum Pudding Model 4. Ernest Rutherford: Nuclear Model 5. Niels Bohr: Planetary Model 6. Erwin Schrödinger: Quantum Model
Now, like anyone else, you could be thinking, that they are THE smallest things ever, but you’re WRONG.
The Elementary Particles The elementary particles are kinds of particles which cannot be divided further. They make up protons, neutrons and many other particles. Currently, only seventeen of them have been discovered. They are shown in the form of 'The Standard Model'.
The purple coloured boxes contain particles called Quarks. These are of six types as shown. The term 'Quarks' was proposed by Murray Gell-Mann, an American physicist. The green boxes contain particles called Leptons. They also have six types. These both, together are called Fermions.
The yellow and red boxes contain particles called Bosons. The red ones represent Vector Bosons or Gauge Bosons. The yellow box has the Higgs Boson which is the most important elementary particle.
All of these particles also have anti-particles, which are theorised to have opposite properties. Today, probably these are the smallest particles in the Universe and they make up everything you see around. These are the only particles we know of now and with more, maybe we would be able to make the theory of everything! How Small? It is quite natural to think how small they are, what we call the smallest particles ever?! Let’s start with atoms. If you take a single strand of the hair, you could probably fit in 500,000 carbon atoms in there along its WIDTH. Yes, you read it right. If the atoms are that small, then what about the subatomic particles? Well, quarks and bosons are like points in geometry, zero-dimensional. We still can’t say about their dimensions. They are that small. The study of this tiny stuff is called Quantum Mechanics. Thinking of Marvel’s Avengers right? Don’t thank me. Also, if you were thinking all of these things have a life, you are wrong again!
Any other theories? Yes, there is a possibility of another particle called a graviton. You can relate it from its name, to gravity. The gravitational force is said to exist due to the exchange of gravitons. Now, don’t believe that anything in this paragraph is true. This is just a theory, so take it with a grain of salt.
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