Elementary Particles
From: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
|
Date: 2008
Elementary Particles
| Elementary Particles |
For each of these particles, except the photon, gluon, and Z-boson, there is an antiparticle with the same mass and opposite charge. In most cases the antiparticle is denoted by an overbar over the particle symbol (e.g., the symbol for the antiproton is p. Because quarks cannot be isolated, the masses given for them are approximate.
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| Leptons |
| Particle
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Symbol
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Mass (MeV/c 2 )
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Electric Charge
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|
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| electron
|
e -
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0.511
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-1
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| muon
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μ -
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105.7
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-1
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| tau
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τ
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1784.1
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-1
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| electron neutrino
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ν e
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<7.3×10 -6
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0
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| muon neutrino
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ν μ
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<0.27
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0
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| tau neutrino
|
ν τ
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<35
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0
|
|
| Quarks |
|
|
| down
|
d
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5-15
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- 1/3
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| up
|
u
|
2-8
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2/3
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| strange
|
s
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100-300
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- 1/3
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| charm
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c
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1300-1700
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2/3
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| bottom
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b
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4700-5300
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- 1/3
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| top
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t
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>91,000
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2/3
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|
| Gauge Bosons |
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| photon
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γ
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0
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0
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| gluon
|
g
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0
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0
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| W-boson
|
W
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80,200
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1
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| Z-boson
|
Z
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91,170
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0
|
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| Some Sample Hadrons |
| Particle
|
Symbol
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Mass (MeV/c 2 )
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Electric Charge
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Quark Content
|
|
|
| positive pion
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π +
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139.6
|
1
|
ud
|
| positive kaon
|
K +
|
493.7
|
1
|
us
|
| proton
|
p
|
938.3
|
1
|
uud
|
| neutron
|
n
|
939.6
|
0
|
udd
|
| lambda
|
Λ
|
1115.6
|
0
|
uds
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|
Author not available, ELEMENTARY PARTICLES.,
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2008
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press
For permission to reuse this article, contact Copyright Clearance Center.
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