Introduction
During our elementary and highschool years they always tell us that the smallest particle in the universe is the Atom or sometimes it is the Neutron or the center of an atom. Well this thing is somewhat, inaccurate.
Quark
The smallest particle known to humankind is the Quark, quark is an elementary particle, which means it is the basic of all basic. There are 6 types or what we call flavors of Quark, the Up, Down, Top, Bottom, Charm and Strange, mixing 1 quark to another will produce different kinds of subatomic particles (2 Up and 1 Down quark is a proton).
Hadron
Just like any other things, when quarks are mixed with other quarks and form another subatomic particle it is no longer a Quark, it is now called a Hadron. Neutron, electron, positron, neutron, proton, neutrinos and other subatomic particles that we know are all considered as Hadron.
Baryons and Mesons
Hadron can be classified into two kinds, the Baryons and Mesons. Baryons are Hadrons that are formed by 3 quarks (Proton for example), while Mesons on the other hand is a quark mixed with an anti-quark. Some scientist suggest that tetraquarks and pentaquarks may also exist (4 and 5 quarks) but their existence was not YET proven as of now.
More Information
Up and Down Quarks are the most stable of all quarks while Charm and Strange are the most unstable, that’s why Proton is made up of Up and Down is also a stable particle. Charm and Strange is most likely to decay into Top and Bottom, then Top and Bottom quark may also decay into Up and Down quark.
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