There are 17 names that refer to known fundamental particles…
The 17 named fundamental particles of the standard model
12 fermions |
5 bosons |
up quark |
charm quark |
top quark |
gluon |
down quark |
strange quark |
bottom quark |
photon |
electron |
muon |
tau |
W boson |
electron neutrino |
muon neutrino |
tau neutrino |
Z boson |
|
|
|
Higgs boson |
but the answer to this question isn't 17. Since some of these particles come in more than one type and some names correspond to more than one particle.
Start with the fermions. Quarks come in 6 flavors and 3 colors, which gives us 18 unique quarks.
|
18 quarks |
|
red up quark |
red charm quark |
red top quark |
green up quark |
green charm quark |
green top quark |
blue up quark |
blue charm quark |
blue top quark |
red down quark |
red strange quark |
red bottom quark |
green down quark |
green strange quark |
green bottom quark |
blue down quark |
blue strange quark |
blue bottom quark |
The leptons come in 6 flavors, 3 of which are neutrinos, but none of which are colored. There is nothing to multiply here. Just add 6 leptons to the 18 quarks to get 24 matter fermions.
|
6 leptons |
|
electron |
muon |
tau |
electron neutrino |
muon neutrino |
tau neutrino |
Fermions are matter particles. For every particle of matter there is a corresponding antiparticle of antimatter.
|
18 antiquarks |
|
antired antiup quark |
antired anticharm quark |
antired antitop quark |
antigreen antiup quark |
antigreen anticharm quark |
antigreen antitop quark |
antiblue antiup quark |
antiblue anticharm quark |
antiblue antitop quark |
antired antidown quark |
antired antistrange quark |
antired antibottom quark |
antigreen antidown quark |
antigreen antistrange quark |
antigreen antibottom quark |
antiblue antidown quark |
antiblue antistrange quark |
antiblue antibottom quark |
* Also known as the positron
|
6 antileptons |
|
antielectron* |
antimuon |
antitau |
electron antineutrino |
muon antineutrino |
tau antineutrino |
This matter-antimatter symmetry means we have to double the number of fermions from 24 to 48. If neutrinos turn out to be their own antiparticles, which is yet to be determined, then this number would need to be modified.
On to the bosons. Gluons come in 8 color combinations. Here's one way to write them out.
There are two kinds of W boson, one kind of Z boson, and one kind of photon for a total of 4 electroweak bosons.
|
4 electroweak bosons |
|
photon |
W+ boson |
W− boson |
Z0 boson |
There is only one kind of Higgs boson (that we know of).
|
1 Higgs boson |
|
|
Higgs boson |
|
Since bosons aren't matter particles, they have no antiparticle counterparts. There are no "antibosons".
I think we're ready to wrap it up. 8 gluons, 4 electroweak, and 1 Higgs gives us 13 bosons in total.
+ 48 fermions |
+ 13 bosons |
= 61 elementary particles |
Behold!
All 61 confirmed elementary particles in the standard model
|
18 quarks |
|
red up quark |
red charm quark |
red top quark |
green up quark |
green charm quark |
green top quark |
blue up quark |
blue charm quark |
blue top quark |
red down quark |
red strange quark |
red bottom quark |
green down quark |
green strange quark |
green bottom quark |
blue down quark |
blue strange quark |
blue bottom quark |
|
6 leptons |
|
electron |
muon |
tau |
electron neutrino |
muon neutrino |
tau neutrino |
|
18 antiquarks |
|
antired antiup quark |
antired anticharm quark |
antired antitop quark |
antigreen antiup quark |
antigreen anticharm quark |
antigreen antitop quark |
antiblue antiup quark |
antiblue anticharm quark |
antiblue antitop quark |
antired antidown quark |
antired antistrange quark |
antired antibottom quark |
antigreen antidown quark |
antigreen antistrange quark |
antigreen antibottom quark |
antiblue antidown quark |
antiblue antistrange quark |
antiblue antibottom quark |
|
6 antileptons |
|
antielectron* |
antimuon |
antitau |
electron antineutrino |
muon antineutrino |
tau antineutrino |
|
4 electroweak bosons |
|
photon |
W+ boson |
W− boson |
Z0 boson |
|
1 Higgs boson |
|
|
Higgs boson |
|
Write something.
Write something.
Write something.