Tuesday, 10 January 2017

particle physics - Is there anything smaller than a quark?



Is there anything smaller than a quark? So far we have just discussed protons, neutrons, and electrons in class, so I am just curious.



Answer



All we know about the size of quarks is that they are smaller than the resolution of any measuring instrument we have been able to use. In other words, they have never been shown to have any size at all. Most physicists suspect that they are not actually points, but we don't know how small they are.


The same goes for electrons, by the way. (Protons and neutrons do have a known size, around $1\text{ fm}$ across.)


No comments:

Post a Comment

Understanding Stagnation point in pitot fluid

What is stagnation point in fluid mechanics. At the open end of the pitot tube the velocity of the fluid becomes zero.But that should result...