Pictures to understand what bosons, fermions and Higgs particles are.

As we all know, quantum mechanics is the core of modern physics, and physicists' exploration of the "smallest component" in the universe has continued to this day. From molecules and atoms to protons, neutrons and electrons that make up atoms, many people may be familiar with them.

However, with the discovery of various strange quarks (upper quarks, lower quarks, top quarks, odd quarks, etc.). ), neutrinos and bosons, and the Higgs boson discovered in 20 12, the general public began to fog. What are these? ...

If explained in a very simple language, it can be summarized as follows: the classification and function of these particles are actually explaining how micro-quanta interact and stick together to form the macro world we see.

Simply put, elementary particles are divided into two categories, bosons and fermions.

Fermions are the basic particles of matter and follow the principle of incompatibility.

Bosons (such as photons), as exchange particles, pass from one particle to another and are responsible for generating interaction forces.

There are 12 kinds of fermions and their corresponding antiparticles in nature, each of which is a generation, and one * * * is divided into three generations:

To understand these, we need to understand the interaction between particles, and modern physics is to unify these forces and complete the "great unity."

Gravity: almost negligible; Particles exchange gravitons to produce gravity.

Electromagnetic force: it is the interaction between charged particles that binds atoms together; It is the basis of chemical reaction.

Quantum electrodynamics (QED) is a theory to explain the electromagnetic interaction between particles-particles generate force by transmitting photons to each other. Quantum electrodynamics was founded by Feynman and other physicists in the 1940s. Feynman also invented the famous Feynman diagram to draw the interaction between particles.

Strong interaction force: it binds the nucleus, that is, the part with protons and neutrons, so that the nucleus will not be torn because of the mutual repulsion of electromagnetic forces;

Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) explains the strong interaction force-when quarks exchange gluons with each other, they will produce strong interaction force. These particles are called gluons because they stick quarks together.

Weak interaction force: the cause of some radiation phenomena is also one of the forces leading to the synthesis of atoms in stars.

The weak interaction force works by exchanging three kinds of bosons, which predicts the existence of Higgs boson.

20 17 On July 4th, Europe and research institutions announced the discovery of the Higgs boson. This is the most important unification of force after Faraday and Maxwell unified electromagnetic force 150 years ago. )

If fermions constitute matter, bosons are responsible for generating the forces between them: strong interaction force, electromagnetic force and weak interaction force. This is the standard model of elementary particles.