The Standard Model of particle physics describes particles and their interactions through three fundamental forces. Fermions and bosons make up particles, and the model predicts outcomes of particle interactions. The Higgs boson and graviton are hypothetical particles, and gravity is not included in the model. If the graviton is discovered, it could replace the Standard Model and become the “Theory of Everything.”
The Standard Model of particle physics is physics’ best approximation to a complete theory of reality. It describes dozens of particles and the interactions between them, which fall into three categories; the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force and electromagnetism. Particles are divided into two classes: bosons or pherimones.
Fermions include the familiar proton and neutron (both composed of quarks, neutrinos and gluons) and the electron, which is fundamental.
Bosons mediate the interactions between fermions.
The main difference between bosons and fermions is that bosons can share the same quantum state, while fermions cannot. The Standard Model is routinely used to predict the outcomes of particle interactions to many significant digits of accuracy. It’s not entirely complete, but it’s the best theory around since its inception between 1970 and 1973.
Fermions are made up of 6 varieties of quarks and 6 varieties of leptons. Almost all the matter we observe around us is made up of 2 types of quarks, the “up” quark and the “down” quark, and 1 variety of leptons, the electron. These three particles are enough to form all the atoms in the periodic table and the molecules they create when bonded to each other. The remaining 4 quarks and 5 leptons are more massive versions that otherwise behave like their less massive cousins. They can be created in high-energy physics experiments over fractional-second periods. Each lepton has a neutrino (particle carrying energy of extremely low mass and high speed) that corresponds to it. All of these particles also have antimatter versions, which behave the same way, but annihilate upon contact with non-antimatter, converting the mass of both particles into pure energy.
Bosons come in 4 varieties, which mediate the three fundamental forces mentioned earlier. The most familiar boson is the photon, which mediates electromagnetism. This is responsible for all phenomena surrounding electricity, magnetism and light. Other bosons include the W and Z bosons, which mediate the weak nuclear force; and gluons, which mediate the strong nuclear force that binds quarks together into larger particles such as neutrons and protons. In this way the Standard Model explains or unites 3 of the 4 fundamental forces in nature; the exceptional force is gravity.
The Higgs boson is a boson whose existence is predicted by the Standard Model but has not yet been observed. It would be responsible for the mechanism by which all particles acquire mass. Another hypothetical boson is the graviton, which mediates gravitational interactions.
Gravity is not included in the Standard Model because there is a lack of theoretical description or experimental clues of the bosons that mediate gravitational interactions. However, modern string theory has introduced interesting possibilities for further exploration of possible ways to expose the hypothetical graviton. If it is successful one day, it could prove to replace the Standard Model by uniting all 4 fundamental forces, thus becoming the elusive “Theory of Everything”.
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