¿Qué son los quarks?

Quarks: The Building Blocks of Matter

"Atoms are considered the basic building blocks of all things."

The universe contains numerous particles, such as protons, electrons, photons, and neutrinos.
Scientists have cataloged these particles and their properties.
Some particles are composed of other particles, similar to how atoms are composed of neutrons, protons, and electrons.
Other particles, like electrons and photons, are fundamental particles, meaning they are not composed of anything else.
Quarks are a type of fundamental particle.

"Some particles are composed of other particles, while others are fundamental particles."

In the 1960s, scientists discovered new particles that seemed unnecessary to explain the behavior of matter.
In 1964, physicists proposed the theory of quarks as a possible explanation.
The theory suggested that particles like protons and neutrons are composed of more fundamental particles called quarks.
Initially, quarks were categorized into three types: up, down, and strange.
Subsequently, three more types of quarks were discovered: charm, bottom, and top.

"Physicists proposed the theory of quarks as a more fundamental explanation for particles like protons and neutrons."

Quarks have different flavors, which can mix to form particles.
Each flavor of quark has specific properties.
Quarks with positive charge (two-thirds of an electron's charge) can combine with quarks with negative charge (one-third of an electron's charge) to form particles.
For example, combining two quarks with positive charge and one quark with negative charge results in a proton.
Different combinations of quarks can form different types of particles, including those found in the nucleus of an atom.

"Quarks with different flavors can mix to form particles with specific properties."